I. shine 1 S3 /ʃaɪn/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle shone /ʃɒn $ ʃoʊn/)
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ shine , ↑ outshine ; noun : ↑ shine , ↑ shininess ; adjective : ↑ shiny ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: scinan ]
1 . [intransitive] to produce bright light:
The sun was shining.
The moon shone brightly in the sky.
shine in/on
That lamp’s shining in my eyes.
2 . [transitive] if you shine a light somewhere, you point it in that direction
shine something on/at/around etc something
Shine that torch over here, will you?
3 . [intransitive] to look bright and smooth:
Marion polished the table until it shone.
She had shining black hair.
4 . [transitive] ( past tense and past participle shined ) to make something bright by rubbing it SYN polish :
His shoes were shined to perfection.
5 . [intransitive] if your eyes shine, or your face shines, you have an expression of happiness
shine with
‘It was wonderful!’ Kate replied, her eyes shining with excitement.
6 . [intransitive not in progressive] to be very good at something:
The concert will give young jazz musicians a chance to shine.
shine at/in
Peter didn’t really shine at school.
7 . shining example something or someone that is an excellent example of a particular quality and should be admired
shining example of
The house is a shining example of Art Deco architecture.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to produce light
▪ shine to produce bright light:
The sun was shining.
▪ flash to shine brightly for a very short time, or to shine on and off very quickly many times:
Lightning flashed across the sky.
|
The police car’s lights were flashing.
▪ glare to shine with a very strong light which hurts your eyes:
The sun glared in her eyes.
▪ flicker to shine with an unsteady light – used about a flame or light:
The candle flickered and went out.
▪ twinkle if stars or lights twinkle, they shine in the dark in a way that seems to change from bright to faint, especially because you are a long way away from them:
stars twinkling in the sky
|
The harbour lights twinkled in the distance.
▪ glow especially literary to shine with a warm soft light:
Lights glowed in the windows.
▪ blaze literary to shine very brightly:
The lights of the factory were still blazing.
■ to shine by reflecting light
▪ sparkle/glitter if something sparkles, it shines with many small bright points when light is on it:
The sea sparkled in the sunlight.
|
Jewels glittered around her neck.
▪ gleam to shine by reflecting the light – used especially about smooth clean surfaces, or about someone’s eyes or teeth:
The sword’s blade gleamed.
|
a gleaming sports car
|
His blue eyes gleamed with amusement.
▪ glint to shine with quick flashes of light:
The knife glinted in the sunlight.
▪ glisten literary to shine – used about wet or oily surfaces. Used especially when saying that someone’s eyes are full of tears, or someone’s skin is covered in sweat:
As they were leaving, her eyes glistened with tears.
|
His forehead was glistening with sweat.
|
The wet chairs glistened in the afternoon sun.
▪ catch the light if something catches the light, it shines because it is reflecting light:
Her diamond ring caught the light.
shine through phrasal verb
if a quality that someone has shines through, you can easily see that they have it:
What shines through in all her work is her enthusiasm for life.
II. shine 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ shine , ↑ outshine ; noun : ↑ shine , ↑ shininess ; adjective : ↑ shiny ]
1 . [singular, uncountable] the brightness that something has when light shines on it:
Lucy’s dark hair seemed to have lost its shine.
2 . take a shine to somebody informal to like someone very much when you have only just met them
⇨ (come) rain or shine at ↑ rain 1 (4)