The Collaborative International Dictionary
Sheer \Sheer\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sheered; p. pr. & vb. n. Sheering.] [D. sheren to shear, cut, withdraw, warp. See Shear.] To decline or deviate from the line of the proper course; to turn aside; to swerve; as, a ship sheers from her course; a horse sheers at a bicycle.
To sheer off, to turn or move aside to a distance; to move away.
To sheer up, to approach obliquely.
Usage examples of "to sheer off".
Jean ran swiftly round the corner, taking care to sheer off a little to the left, and when he got clear of the building he saw a line of flashes in the middle of the road.
Half a dozen blisters opened on the side of the battleship, and combat boats erupted from them, as, at the same time, the Novi Sad tried to sheer off from the Enigma.
Plenty who liked her intelligence and sardonic humor, as well, but she seemed to sheer off from anything lasting.
The thin smoke had blown away, we were clear of the snag, and looking ahead I could see that in another hundred yards or so I would be free to sheer off, away from the bank.