I. ˈshimə(r) verb
( shimmered ; shimmered ; shimmering -m(ə)riŋ ; shimmers )
Etymology: Middle English schimeren, schemeren, from Old English scimerian; akin to Middle Low German schēmeren to get dark, German schimmern to glimmer, Old English scīmian to shine, grow dark, scīma ray, light, brightness — more at shim
intransitive verb
1. : to shine with a tremulous or fitful light : gleam faintly : glimmer
the street lights shimmered behind the veil of snow — Morley Callaghan
by moonlight its powdery sands shimmer like snow — D.L.Graham
2. : to reflect a wavering sometimes distorted visual image
heat waves shimmered before our eyes — F.P.Conant
transitive verb
: to cause to shimmer
the night breeze … stirred the leaves on trees, shimmering them in the moonlight — Stuart Cloete
II. noun
( -s )
1. : a fitful, tremulous light : glimmer : a subdued sparkle or sheen : a scintillating effect
the faint shimmer of heat lightning — R.P.Warren
the shimmer of young foliage — L.P.Smith
enough to give a shimmer of danger to the atmosphere — Ellery Sedgwick
2. : a wavering sometimes distorted visual image usually produced by a reflection from heat waves
the slate roofs sent shimmers up … in the glare — Elizabeth Bowen
a constant shimmer of heat over wide concrete highways — S.W.Matthews
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: shim (II) + -er (freq. suffix)
1. : shim 1
2. : to fit a shim between surfaces of (work)
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: shim (III) + -er (n. suffix)
1.
a. : one that shims
b. : shim
2. : one that inserts shims