Shaving is the act of removing hair from your skin using a razor, a sharp blade designed for this purpose. Most adults shave their faces, legs, or underarms, carefully gliding the razor across wet, soapy skin to cut the hair right at the surface.

Men often shave their facial hair each morning, though some prefer to grow beards or mustaches. In carpentry and woodworking, shaving means removing thin slices from wood to smooth it or shape it precisely. A carpenter might use a tool called a plane to create delicate wood shavings that curl up like ribbon. These shavings are the thin pieces that come off, whether they're bits of wood curling away from a pencil sharpener or whiskers rinsing down a bathroom sink.

When someone describes a close shave, they usually mean a narrow escape from danger or disaster, like barely avoiding a collision while riding your bike. The phrase suggests coming as close to trouble as a razor comes to skin.