Shear is a synonym of break.
As verbs the difference between shear and break
is that
shear is to cut, originally with a sword or other bladed weapon, now usually with shears, or as if using shears while
break is (intransitive) to separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.
As nouns the difference between shear and break
is that
shear is a cutting tool similar to scissors, but often larger while
break is an instance of breaking something into two pieces.
As a adjective shear
is (
sheer).