/ ʃaɪn; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb ( shone , shone / ʃɒn; US ʃoʊn/)
HELP NOTE : In sense 3 shined is used for the past tense and past participle.
1.
[ v ] to produce or reflect light; to be bright :
The sun shone brightly in a cloudless sky.
The dark polished wood shone like glass.
( figurative )
Her eyes were shining with excitement.
Excitement was shining in her eyes.
2.
[ vn ] to aim or point the light of a lamp, etc. in a particular direction :
He shone the flashlight around the cellar.
( figurative )
Campaigners are shining a spotlight on the world's diminishing natural resources.
3.
( shined , shined ) [ vn ] to polish sth; to make sth smooth and bright :
He shined shoes and sold newspapers to make money.
4.
[ v ] to be very good at sth :
He failed to shine academically but he was very good at sports.
She has set a shining example of loyal service over four decades.
—see also shiny
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IDIOMS
see hay , knight noun , rise verb
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PHRASAL VERBS
- shine through (sth)
■ noun
[ sing. ] the bright quality that sth has when light is reflected on it :
a shampoo that gives your hair body and shine
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IDIOMS
- take a shine to sb/sth
- take the shine off sth
—more at rain noun
••
SYNONYMS
shine
gleam ♦ glow ♦ sparkle ♦ glisten ♦ shimmer ♦ glitter ♦ twinkle ♦ glint
These words all mean to produce or reflect light.
shine
to produce or reflect light, especially brightly:
The sun was shining and the sky was blue.
gleam
to shine with a clear bright or pale light, especially a reflected light:
Moonlight gleamed on the water.
glow
(often of sth hot or warm) to produce a dull steady light:
The end of his cigarette glowed red.
sparkle
to shine brightly with small flashes of light:
The diamonds sparkled in the light.
glisten
(of sth wet) to shine:
The road glistened wet after the rain.
shimmer
to shine with a soft light that seems to shake slightly:
Everything seemed to shimmer in the heat.
glitter
to shine brightly with small flashes of reflected light:
The ceiling of the cathedral glittered with gold.
sparkle or glitter?
There is very little difference in meaning between these two words. Glitter can sometimes suggest a lack of depth, but this is more frequent in the figurative use of glitter as a noun:
the superficial glitter of show business
. Sparkle is also often used to talk about light reflected off a surface, but things that produce light can also sparkle:
Stars sparkled in the sky.
twinkle
to shine with a light that changes rapidly from bright to faint to bright again:
Stars twinkled in the sky.
glint
to give small bright flashes of reflected light:
The blade of the knife glinted in the darkness.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to shine / gleam / glow / sparkle / glisten / shimmer / glitter / twinkle / glint on/upon sth
to shine / gleam / glow / sparkle / glisten / shimmer / glitter / twinkle / glint with sth
to shine / gleam / sparkle / glisten / shimmer / glitter / glint in the sunlight
to shine / gleam / glow / sparkle / glisten / shimmer / glitter / glint in the moonlight
the moon shines / gleams / shimmers
the stars shine / gleam / sparkle / glitter / twinkle
sb's eyes shine / gleam / glow / sparkle / glisten / glitter / twinkle / glint
to shine / gleam / glow / sparkle / glisten / shimmer / glitter / twinkle / glint brightly
to shine / gleam / glow / shimmer softly
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English scīnan , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch schijnen and German scheinen .