What does the word shears mean?

Usage examples for shears

  1. You've dulled how many thousand shears! – Tobogganing On Parnassus by Franklin P. Adams
  2. They were not sharp shears, and a group of little darkies gathered from the farm to enjoy the torture. – The Boys' Life of Mark Twain by Albert Bigelow Paine
  3. The deadly shears fall powerless. – More Hunting Wasps by J. Henri Fabre