sh [sh often prolonged] -interj

  1. used often in prolonged or rapidly repeated form to urge or command silence or less noise
  2. share

Sha·ban [shə-'bän] -n

  1. the eighth month of the Islamic year

Shab·bat [shə-'bät, 'shä-bəs] -n

  1. the Jewish Sabbath

shab·by ['sha-bē] -adj, adv, n

  1. clothed with worn or seedy garments
    • a shabby hobo
  2. threadbare and faded from wear
    • a shabby sofa
  3. ill-kept : dilapidated
    • a shabby neighborhood
  4. mean, despicable, contemptible
    • must feel shabby...because of his compromises -- Nat Hentoff
  5. ungenerous, unfair
    • laments the shabby way in which this country often treated a poet -- Paul Engle
  6. inferior in quality
    • shabby reasoning

Sha·bu·oth [shə-'vü-,ōt, -,ōth, -,ōs, -əs] -n

  1. a Jewish holiday observed on the sixth and seventh of Sivan in commemoration of the revelation of the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai called also Pentecost

sha·busha·bu ['shä-bü-'shä-bü] -n

  1. a Japanese dish consisting of thinly sliced beef and vegetables cooked briefly in simmering broth at the table

shack ['shak] -n

  1. hut, shanty
  2. a room or similar enclosed structure for a particular person or use
    • a guard shack

shack·le ['sha-kəl] -n

  1. something (as a manacle or fetter) that confines the legs or arms
  2. something that checks or prevents free action as if by fetters usu. used in pl.
  3. a usu. U-shaped fastening device secured by a bolt or pin through holes in the end of the two arms
  4. a length of cable or anchor chain of usu. 15 fathoms

shackle [-k(ə-)liŋ] -vt, n

  1. to bind with shackles : fetter
  2. to make fast with or as if with a shackle
  3. to deprive of freedom esp. of action by means of restrictions or handicaps : impede

shack·le·bone ['sha-kəl-,bōn, 'shā-] -n

  1. wrist

shack up -vi

  1. to sleep or live together as unmarried sexual partners

shad ['shad] -n

  1. any of several fishes (esp. genus Alosa) of the herring family that differ from the typical herrings (genus Clupeus) in having a relatively deep body and in being anadromous and that include some important food fishes of Europe and No. America

shad·ber·ry [-,ber-ē] -n

  1. serviceberry

shad·blow ['shad-,blō] -n

  1. serviceberry

shad·bush [-,bu̇sh] -n

  1. serviceberry

shad·dock ['sha-dək] -n

  1. pomelo

shade ['shād] -n, adj

  1. comparative darkness or obscurity owing to interception of the rays of light
  2. relative obscurity or retirement
  3. shelter (as by foliage) from the heat and glare of sunlight
  4. a place sheltered from the sun
  5. an evanescent or unreal appearance
  6. the shadows that gather as darkness comes on
  7. netherworld, hades
  8. a disembodied spirit : ghost
  9. used to signal the similarity between a previously encountered person or situation and one at hand usu. used in pl.
    • shade s of my childhood
  10. : something that intercepts or shelters from light, sun, or heat: as
  11. a device partially covering a lamp so as to reduce glare
  12. a flexible screen usu. mounted on a roller for regulating the light or the view through a window
  13. sunglasses
  14. the reproduction of the effect of shade in painting or drawing
  15. a subdued or somber feature
  16. a color produced by a pigment or dye mixture having some black in it
  17. a color slightly different from the one under consideration
  18. a minute difference or variation : nuance
  19. a minute degree or quantity
  20. a facial expression of sadness or displeasure
  21. to shelter or screen by intercepting radiated light or heat
  22. to cover with a shade
  23. to hide partly by or as if by a shadow
  24. to darken with or as if with a shadow
  25. to better or exceed by a shade
  26. to represent the effect of shade or shadow on
  27. to add shading to
  28. to color so that the shades pass gradually from one to another
  29. to change by gradual transition or qualification
  30. to reduce slightly (as a price)
  31. slant, bias
  32. to pass by slight changes or imperceptible degrees
  33. to undergo or exhibit minute difference or variation

shadegrown ['shād-,grōn] -adj

  1. grown in the shade
  2. grown under cloth
    • shadegrown tobacco

shade tree -n

  1. a tree grown primarily to produce shade

shading -n

  1. the use of marking made within outlines to suggest three-dimensionality, shadow, or degrees of light and dark in a picture or drawing
  2. an interpretative effect in music gained esp. by subtle changes in dynamics

sha·doof [shə-'düf, sha-] -n

  1. a counterbalanced sweep used since ancient times esp. in Egypt for raising water (as for irrigation)

shad·ow ['sha-(,)dō] -n, adj

  1. partial darkness or obscurity within a part of space from which rays from a source of light are cut off by an interposed opaque body
  2. a reflected image
  3. shelter from danger or observation
  4. an imperfect and faint representation
  5. an imitation of something : copy
  6. the dark figure cast upon a surface by a body intercepting the rays from a source of light
  7. phantom
  8. dark
  9. a shaded or darker portion of a picture
  10. an attenuated form or a vestigial remnant
  11. an inseparable companion or follower
  12. one (as a spy or detective) that shadows
  13. a small degree or portion : trace
  14. a source of gloom or unhappiness
  15. an area near an object : vicinity
  16. pervasive and dominant influence
  17. a state of ignominy or obscurity

shadow [-dō-ər, -də-wər] -vt, n

  1. shelter, protect
  2. to cast a shadow upon : cloud
  3. to shelter from the sun
  4. conceal
  5. to represent or indicate obscurely or faintly often used with forth or out
  6. to follow esp. secretly : trail
  7. to accompany and observe esp. in a professional setting
  8. shade
  9. to pass gradually or by degrees
  10. to become overcast with or as if with shadows
  11. of, relating to, or resembling a shadow cabinet
    • shadow minister of defense
  12. having an indistinct pattern
    • shadow plaid
  13. having darker sections of design
    • shadow lace

shad·ow·box ['sha-dō-,bäks, -də-,bäks] -vi

  1. to box with an imaginary opponent esp. as a form of training

shadow box -n

  1. a shallow enclosing case usu. with a glass front in which something is set for protection and display

shadow cabinet -n

  1. a group of leaders of a parliamentary opposition who constitute the probable membership of the cabinet when their party is returned to power

shadow dance -n

  1. a dance shown by throwing the shadows of dancers on a screen

shad·ow·graph ['sha-dō-,graf, -də-,graf] -n

  1. shadow play
  2. a photographic image resembling a shadow

shadow mask -n

  1. a metal plate in a color cathode-ray tube that contains minute apertures permitting passage of electron beams to specific phosphors on the screen during a scan

shadow play -n

  1. a drama exhibited by throwing shadows of puppets or actors on a screen called also shadow show

shad·owy ['sha-dō-ē, -də-wē] -adj, adv, n

  1. of the nature of or resembling a shadow
  2. faintly perceptible : indistinct
  3. being in or obscured by shadow
    • deep shadowy interiors
  4. shady
  5. shady

shady ['shā-dē] -adj, adv, n

  1. producing or affording shade
  2. sheltered from the sun's rays
  3. of questionable merit : uncertain, unreliable
  4. disreputable

shaft ['shaft] -n

  1. the long handle of a spear or similar weapon
  2. spear, lance
  3. pole
  4. either of two long pieces of wood between which a horse is hitched to a vehicle
  5. an arrow esp. for a longbow
  6. the body or stem of an arrow extending from the nock to the head
  7. a sharply delineated beam of light shining through an opening
  8. : something suggestive of the shaft of a spear or arrow esp. in long slender cylindrical form: as
  9. the trunk of a tree
  10. the cylindrical pillar between the capital and the base
  11. the handle of a tool or instrument (as a golf club)
  12. a commonly cylindrical bar used to support rotating pieces or to transmit power or motion by rotation
  13. the stem or central axis of a feather
  14. the upright member of a cross esp. below the arms
  15. the cylindrical part of a long bone between the enlarged ends
  16. a small architectural column (as at each side of a doorway)
  17. a column, obelisk, or other spire-shaped or columnar monument
  18. a vertical or inclined opening of uniform and limited cross section made for finding or mining ore, raising water, or ventilating underground workings (as in a cave)
  19. the part of a hair that is visible above the surface of the skin
  20. a vertical opening or passage through the floors of a building
  21. a projectile thrown like a spear or shot like an arrow
  22. a scornful, satirical, or pithily critical remark or attack
  23. harsh or unfair treatment usu. used with the
    • gave them the shaft
  24. to fit with a shaft
  25. to treat unfairly or harshly

shaft horsepower -n

  1. horsepower transmitted by an engine shaft

shaft·ing ['shaf-tiŋ] -n

  1. shafts or material for shafts

shag ['shag] -n

  1. a shaggy tangled mass or covering (as of hair)
  2. long coarse or matted fiber, nap, or pile
  3. a layered haircut of uneven length
  4. tobacco cut into fine shreds
  5. any of various waterbirds related to the cormorants
  6. cormorant
  7. shaggy
  8. to fall or hang in shaggy masses
  9. to make rough or shaggy
  10. to have sexual intercourse with
  11. to chase after
  12. to chase after and return (a ball) hit usu. out of play
  13. to catch (a fly) in baseball practice
  14. to chase away
  15. to move or lope along
  16. to dance the shag
  17. a dance step executed by hopping livelily on each foot in turn

shag·bark ['shag-,bärk] -n

  1. shagbark hickory

shagbark hickory -n

  1. a hickory ( Carya ovata) of eastern No. America with sweet edible nuts and a gray shaggy outer bark that peels off in long strips
  2. its wood

shag·gy ['sha-gē] -adj, adv, n

  1. covered with or consisting of long, coarse, or matted hair
  2. covered with or consisting of thick, tangled, or unkempt vegetation
  3. having a rough nap, texture, or surface
  4. having hairlike processes
  5. unkempt
  6. confused or unclear in conception or thinking
    • shaggy ideas
    • a shaggy argument

shag·gydog [,sha-gē-'dȯg] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or being a long-drawn-out circumstantial story concerning an inconsequential happening that impresses the teller as humorous or interesting but the hearer as boring and pointless
  2. of, relating to, or being a similar humorous story whose humor lies in the pointlessness or irrelevance of the punch line
    • a shaggydog comedy

shag·gy·mane ['sha-gē-,mān] -n

  1. a common edible mushroom ( Coprinus comatus) having an elongated shaggy white pileus with deliquescing gills and black spores called also shaggy cap

sha·green [sha-'grēn, shə-] -n, adj

  1. an untanned leather covered with small round granulations and usu. dyed green
  2. the rough skin of various sharks and rays when covered with small close-set tubercles

shah ['shä, 'shȯ] -n

  1. a sovereign of Iran

shai·tan [shā-'tän, shī-] -n

  1. an evil spirit
  2. an evil jinni

shake ['shāk] -vb, adj

  1. to move irregularly to and fro
  2. to vibrate esp. as the result of a blow or shock
  3. to tremble as a result of physical or emotional disturbance
    • shook with fear
  4. to experience a state of instability : totter
  5. to briskly move something to and fro or up and down esp. in order to mix
  6. to clasp hands
  7. trill
  8. to brandish, wave, or flourish often in a threatening manner
    • protesters shaking their fists
  9. to cause to move to and fro, up and down, or from side to side esp. in a repetitive, rhythmic, or quick jerky manner
    • shook his head in disapproval
  10. to cause to quake, quiver, or tremble
  11. to free oneself from
    • shake a habit
    • shake off a cold
  12. to get away from : get rid of
    • can you shake your friend? I want to talk to you alone -- Elmer Davis
  13. to lessen the stability of : weaken
    • shake one's faith
  14. to bring to a specified condition by or as if by repeated quick jerky movements
    • shook himself loose from the man's grasp
  15. to dislodge or eject by quick jerky movements of the support or container
    • shook the dust from the cloth
  16. to clasp (hands) in greeting or farewell or as a sign of goodwill or agreement
  17. to stir the feelings of : upset, agitate
    • shook her up
  18. trill
  19. : an act of shaking: as
  20. an act of shaking hands
  21. an act of shaking oneself
  22. a blow or shock that upsets the equilibrium or disturbs the balance of something
  23. earthquake
  24. a condition of trembling or nervousness
  25. delirium tremens
  26. malaria
  27. : something produced by shaking: as
  28. a fissure separating annual rings of growth in timber
  29. milk shake
  30. a beverage resembling a milk shake but made without milk
  31. a wavering, quivering, or alternating motion caused by a blow or shock
  32. trill
  33. a very brief period of time
    • I'll be there in two shake s
  34. one that is exceptional esp. in importance, ability, or merit usu. used in the phrase no great shakes
  35. a shingle split from a piece of log usu. three or four feet (about one meter) long
  36. deal
    • a fair shake

shake·down ['shāk-,dau̇n] -n

  1. an improvised bed (as one made up on the floor)
  2. a boisterous dance
  3. an act or instance of shaking someone down
  4. extortion
  5. a thorough search
  6. a process or period of adjustment
  7. a testing under operating conditions of something new (as a ship) for possible faults and defects and for familiarizing the operators with it

shake down -vi

  1. to take up temporary quarters
  2. to occupy an improvised or makeshift bed
  3. to become accustomed esp. to new surroundings or duties
  4. to settle down
  5. to obtain money from in a deceitful, contemptible, or illegal manner
    • racketeers shaking down store owners for protection
  6. to make a thorough search of
  7. to bring about a reduction of
  8. to give a shakedown test to
    • shook down the vessel before its maiden voyage

shake·out ['shāk-,au̇t] -n

  1. the failure or retrenchment of a significant number of firms in the economy or a sector or an industry that usu. results in a depressed market
  2. a period or process in which the relatively weak or unessential are eliminated

shake out -vi

  1. to prove to be in the end : turn out
    • wait to see how things shake out

shak·er ['shā-kər] -n, adj

  1. : one that shakes: as
  2. a utensil or machine used in shaking
    • cocktail shaker
  3. one that incites, promotes, or directs action
    • a mover and shaker
  4. a member of a millenarian sect originating in England in 1747 and practicing celibacy and an ascetic communal life

Shake·spear·ean [shāk-'spir-ē-ən] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or having the characteristics of Shakespeare or his writings
  2. evocative of a theme, setting, or event from a work of Shakespeare
    • Shakespearean pageantry

Shakespearean -n

  1. an authority on or devotee of Shakespeare

Shake·spear·eana [(,)shāk-,spir-ē-'a-nə, -'ä-, -'ā-] -n pl

  1. collected items by, about, or relating to Shakespeare

Shakespearean sonnet -n

  1. english sonnet

shakeup ['shāk-,əp] -n

  1. an act or instance of shaking up
  2. an extensive and often drastic reorganization

shake up -vt

  1. chide, scold
  2. to jar by or as if by a physical shock
    • the collision shook up both drivers
  3. to effect an extensive and often drastic reorganization of

shaking palsy -n

  1. parkinson's disease

sha·ko ['sha-(,)kō, 'shā-, 'shä-] -n

  1. a stiff military hat with a high crown and plume

Shak·ta ['shäk-tə, 'säk-] -n or adj

  1. an adherent of Shaktism

Shak·ti [-tē] -n

  1. the dynamic energy of a Hindu god personified as his female consort
  2. cosmic energy as conceived in Hindu thought

Shak·tism [-,ti-zəm] -n

  1. a Hindu sect worshipping Shakti under various names (as Kali or Durga) in a cult of devotion to the female principle often with magical or orgiastic rites

shaky ['shā-kē] -adj, adv, n

  1. characterized by shakes
    • shaky timber
  2. lacking stability : precarious
    • a shaky economy
    • performed well after a shaky start
  3. lacking in firmness (as of beliefs or principles)
  4. lacking in authority or reliability : questionable
    • shaky experimental procedures
    • shaky data
  5. somewhat unsound in health
  6. characterized by shaking
  7. likely to give way or break down

shale ['shāl] -n, adj

  1. a fissile rock that is formed by the consolidation of clay, mud, or silt, has a finely stratified or laminated structure, and is composed of minerals essentially unaltered since deposition

shale oil -n

  1. a crude dark oil obtained from oil shale by heating

shall [shəl, 'shal] -vb

  1. will have to : must
  2. will be able to : can
  3. used to express a command or exhortation
    • you shall go
  4. used in laws, regulations, or directives to express what is mandatory
    • it shall be unlawful to carry firearms
  5. used to express what is inevitable or seems likely to happen in the future
    • we shall have to be ready
    • we shall see
  6. used to express simple futurity
    • when shall we expect you
  7. used to express determination
    • they shall not pass
  8. will go
    • he to England shall along with you -- Shak.

shal·loon [shə-'lün, sha-] -n

  1. a lightweight twilled fabric of wool or worsted

shal·lop ['sha-ləp] -n

  1. a usu. 2-masted ship with lugsails
  2. a small open boat propelled by oars or sails and used chiefly in shallow waters

shal·lot [shə-'lät also 'sha-lət] -n

  1. a bulbous perennial onion ( Allium cepa aggregatum) that produces small clustered bulbs which resemble those of garlic and are used in seasoning
  2. its bulb
  3. green onion

shal·low ['sha-(,)lō] -adj, adv, n

  1. having little depth
    • shallow water
  2. having little extension inward or backward
    • office buildings have taken the form of shallow slabs -- Lewis Mumford
  3. penetrating only the easily or quickly perceived
    • shallow generalizations
  4. lacking in depth of knowledge, thought, or feeling
    • a shallow demagogue
  5. displacing comparatively little air : weak
    • shallow breathing

shallow -vt

  1. to make shallow
  2. to become shallow
  3. a shallow place or area in a body of water usu. used in pl. but sing. or pl. in constr.

sha·lom [shä-'lōm, shə-] -interj

  1. used as a Jewish greeting and farewell

shalt [shəl, 'shal] -vb

(variant of shall)

  1. will have to : must
  2. will be able to : can
  3. used to express a command or exhortation
    • you shall go
  4. used in laws, regulations, or directives to express what is mandatory
    • it shall be unlawful to carry firearms
  5. used to express what is inevitable or seems likely to happen in the future
    • we shall have to be ready
    • we shall see
  6. used to express simple futurity
    • when shall we expect you
  7. used to express determination
    • they shall not pass
  8. will go
    • he to England shall along with you -- Shak.

sham ['sham] -n

  1. a trick that deludes : hoax
    • feared that the deal was a sham
  2. cheap falseness : hypocrisy
    • saw through the hollowness, the sham, the silliness of the empty pageant -- Oscar Wilde
  3. an ornamental covering for a pillow
  4. an imitation or counterfeit purporting to be genuine
  5. a person who shams
  6. not genuine : false, feigned
  7. having such poor quality as to seem false
  8. to go through the external motions necessary to counterfeit
  9. to act intentionally so as to give a false impression : feign

sha·man ['shä-mən, 'shā- also shə-'män] -n, adj

  1. a priest or priestess who uses magic for the purpose of curing the sick, divining the hidden, and controlling events
  2. one who resembles a shaman
  3. high priest

sha·man·ism [-,ni-zəm] -n, adj

  1. a religion practiced by indigenous peoples of far northern Europe and Siberia that is characterized by belief in an unseen world of gods, demons, and ancestral spirits responsive only to the shamans
  2. any similar religion

sham·ble ['sham-bəl] -vi, n

  1. to walk awkwardly with dragging feet : shuffle

sham·bles ['sham-bəlz] -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. a meat market
  2. slaughterhouse
  3. a place of mass slaughter or bloodshed
    • the battlefield became a shambles
  4. a scene or a state of great destruction : wreckage
    • the city was a shambles after the bombing
  5. a scene or a state of great disorder or confusion
    • an economy in shambles
  6. great confusion : mess

shambling -adj

  1. characterized by slow awkward movement

sham·bol·ic [sham-'bä-lik] -adj

  1. obviously disorganized or confused

shame ['shām] -n

  1. a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety
  2. the susceptibility to such emotion
    • have you no shame?
  3. a condition of humiliating disgrace or disrepute : ignominy
    • the shame of being arrested
  4. something that brings censure or reproach
  5. something to be regretted : pity
    • it's a shame you can't go
  6. a cause of feeling shame
  7. to bring shame to : disgrace
    • shamed the family name
  8. to put to shame by outdoing
  9. to cause to feel shame
  10. to force by causing to feel guilty
    • shamed into confessing

shame·faced ['shām-,fāst] -adj, adv, n

  1. showing modesty : bashful
  2. showing shame : ashamed

shame·fast ['shām-,fast] -adj

  1. shamefaced

shame·ful ['shām-fəl] -adj, adv, n

  1. bringing shame : disgraceful
  2. arousing the feeling of shame
  3. full of the feeling of shame : ashamed

shame·less ['shām-ləs] -adj, adv, n

  1. having no shame : insensible to disgrace
    • a shameless braggart
  2. showing lack of shame
    • the shameless exploitation of the natives

shamisen ['sa-mə-,sen] -n

(variant of samisen)

  1. a 3-stringed Japanese musical instrument resembling a banjo

sham·mes ['shä-məs] -n

  1. the sexton of a synagogue
  2. the candle or taper used to light the other candles in a Hanukkah menorah

shammy ['sha-mē, sense 1 also sham-'wä] -n

(variant of chamois)

  1. a small goatlike bovid ( Rupicapra rupicapra) of mountainous regions from southern Europe to the Caucasus
  2. a soft pliant leather prepared from the skin of the chamois or from sheepskin
  3. a cotton fabric made in imitation of chamois leather

sham·poo [sham-'pü] -vt, n

  1. massage
  2. to wash (as the hair) with soap and water or with a special preparation
  3. to wash the hair of

shampoo -n

  1. an act or instance of shampooing
  2. a preparation used in shampooing

sham·rock ['sham-,räk] -n

  1. : a trifoliolate plant used as a floral emblem by the Irish: as
  2. a yellow-flowered Old World clover ( Trifolium dubium) often regarded as the true shamrock
  3. wood sorrel
  4. white clover

sha·mus ['shä-məs, 'shā-] -n

  1. police officer
  2. private investigator

Shan ['shän, 'shan] -n

  1. a member of a people living primarily in Myanmar and southern China
  2. the Thai language of the Shan

shan·dy ['shan-dē] -n

  1. shandygaff
  2. a drink consisting of beer and lemonade

shan·dy·gaff ['shan-dē-,gaf] -n

  1. beer diluted with a nonalcoholic drink (as ginger beer)

Shang ['shäŋ] -n

  1. a Chinese dynasty traditionally dated 17661122 b.c.and known esp. for bronze work

shang·hai ['shaŋ-,hī, shaŋ-'hī] -vt, n

  1. to put aboard a ship by force often with the help of liquor or a drug
  2. to put by force or threat of force into or as if into a place of detention
  3. to put by trickery into an undesirable position

Shan·grila [,shaŋ-gri-'lä] -n

  1. a remote beautiful imaginary place where life approaches perfection : utopia
  2. a remote usu. idyllic hideaway

shank ['shaŋk] -n, adj

  1. the part of the leg between the knee and the ankle in humans or the corresponding part in various other vertebrates
  2. leg
  3. a cut of beef, veal, mutton, or lamb from the upper or the lower part of the leg : shin
  4. : a straight narrow usu. essential part of an object: as
  5. the straight part of a nail or pin
  6. a straight part of a plant : stem, stalk
  7. the part of an anchor between the ring and the crown
  8. the part of a fishhook between the eye and the bend
  9. the part of a key between the handle and the bit
  10. the stem of a tobacco pipe or the part between the stem and the bowl
  11. tang
  12. the narrow part of the sole of a shoe beneath the instep
  13. shankpiece
  14. : a part of an object by which it can be attached: as
  15. a projection on the back of a solid button
  16. a short stem of thread that holds a sewn button away from the cloth
  17. the end (as of a drill bit) that is gripped in a chuck
  18. the latter part of a period of time
  19. the early or main part of a period of time
    • 11 p.m. on the East coast is merely the shank of the evening on the West coast
  20. an often homemade knife
  21. to hit (a golf ball or shot) with the extreme heel of the club so that the ball goes off in an unintended direction
  22. to kick (a football) in an unintended direction

shank·piece ['shaŋk-,pēs] -n

  1. a support for the arch of the foot inserted in the shank of a shoe

shank's mare -n

  1. one's own legs
    • traveling by shank's mare

shan't ['shant, 'shänt]

  1. shall not

shan·tung [(,)shan-'təŋ] -n

  1. a fabric in plain weave having a slightly irregular surface due to uneven slubbed filling yarns

shanty ['shan-tē, 'chan-] -n

(variant of chantey)

  1. a song sung by sailors in rhythm with their work

shan·ty·man [-mən, -,man] -n

  1. logger

shan·ty·town [-,tau̇n] -n

  1. a usu. poor town or section of a town consisting mostly of shanties

shap·able ['shā-pə-bəl] -adj

  1. capable of being shaped
  2. shapely

shape ['shāp] -vb, n

  1. form, create
  2. to give a particular form or shape to
  3. ordain, decree
  4. to adapt in shape so as to fit neatly and closely
    • a dress shaped to her figure
  5. devise, plan
    • shape a policy
  6. to embody in definite form
    • shaping a folktale into an epic
  7. to make fit for (as a particular use or purpose) : adapt
    • shape the questions to fit the answers
  8. to determine or direct the course or character of
    • events that shaped history
  9. to modify (behavior) by rewarding changes that tend toward a desired response
  10. to come to pass : happen
    • it's shaping up that I am known now for my husbands -- Leslie Marmon Silko
  11. to take on or approach a mature or definite form often used with up
    • the summer is shaping up to be one of the hottest on record
  12. the visible makeup characteristic of a particular item or kind of item
    • a cake in the shape of a Christmas tree
  13. spatial form or contour
    • the clouds kept changing shape
  14. a standard or universally recognized spatial form
    • a stain in the shape of a perfect circle
  15. the appearance of the body as distinguished from that of the face : figure
  16. phantom, apparition
    • eerie shape s floating in the mist
  17. assumed appearance : guise
    • a trick-or-treater in the shape of a pumpkin
  18. form of embodiment
    • our plans are taking shape
  19. a mode of existence or form of being having identifying features
  20. a molded dessert
  21. blancmange
  22. the condition in which someone or something exists at a particular time
    • the car was in fine shape

shaped charge -n

  1. an explosive charge the energy of which is focused in one direction so that it usu. achieves an armor-penetrating effect

shape·less ['shā-pləs] -adj, adv, n

  1. having no definite shape
  2. deprived of usual or normal shape : misshapen
    • a shapeless old hat
  3. not shapely

shape·ly ['shā-plē] -adj, n

  1. having a regular or pleasing shape
  2. orderly and consistent in arrangement or plan
    • shapely essays

shap·en ['shā-pən] -adj

  1. fashioned in or provided with a definite shape usu. used in combination
    • an ill- shapen body

shape note -n

  1. one of a system of seven notes showing the musical scale degree by the shape of the note head

shapeshift·er ['shāp-,shif-tər] -n, vi

  1. one that seems able to change form or identity at will
  2. a mythical figure that can assume different forms (as of animals)

shapeup ['shāp-,əp] -n

  1. a system of hiring workers and esp. longshoremen by the day or shift by having applicants gather for each day's selection
  2. an instance of such hiring practice

shape up -vi

  1. to improve to a good or acceptable condition or standard of behavior
    • shaping up at the gym
  2. to bring to a good or acceptable condition or standard of behavior

shard ['shärd] -n

  1. a piece or fragment of a brittle substance
    • shard s of glass
  2. a small piece or part : scrap
    • little shard s of time and space recorded by the camera's lens -- Rosalind Krauss
  3. shell, scale
  4. elytron
  5. fragments of pottery vessels found on sites and in refuse deposits where pottery-making peoples have lived
  6. highly angular curved glass fragments of tuffaceous sediments

share ['sher] -n

  1. plowshare
  2. a portion belonging to, due to, or contributed by an individual or group
  3. one's full or fair portion
    • has had his share of bad luck
  4. the part allotted or belonging to one of a number owning together property or interest
  5. any of the equal portions into which property or invested capital is divided
  6. any of the equal interests or rights into which the entire stock of a corporation is divided and ownership of which is regularly evidenced by one or more certificates
  7. stock
  8. to divide and distribute in shares : apportion usu. used with out
    • shared out the land among his heirs
  9. to partake of, use, experience, occupy, or enjoy with others
  10. to have in common
    • they share a passion for opera
  11. to grant or give a share in often used with with
    • shared the last of her water with us
  12. to tell (as thoughts, feelings, or experiences) to others often used with with
  13. to have a share used with in
    • we all shared in the fruits of our labor
  14. to apportion and take shares of something
  15. to talk about one's thoughts, feelings, or experiences with others

share·able ['sher-ə-bəl] -adj, n

  1. capable of being shared

share·crop ['sher-,kräp] -vb

  1. to farm as a sharecropper
  2. to farm (land) or produce (a crop) as a sharecropper

share·crop·per [-,krä-pər] -n

  1. a tenant farmer esp. in the southern U.S. who is provided with credit for seed, tools, living quarters, and food, who works the land, and who receives an agreed share of the value of the crop minus charges

share·hold·er [-,hōl-dər] -n

  1. one that holds or owns a share in property
  2. stockholder

share·ware [-,wer] -n

  1. software with usu. limited capability or incomplete documentation which is available for trial use at little or no cost but which can be upgraded upon payment of a fee to the author

sha·ria [shə-'rē-ə] -n

  1. Islamic law based on the Koran

sha·rif [shə-'rēf] -n, adj

  1. a descendant of the prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima
  2. one of noble ancestry or political preeminence in predominantly Islamic countries

shark ['shärk] -n, adj

  1. any of numerous mostly marine cartilaginous fishes of medium to large size that have a fusiform body, lateral branchial clefts, and a tough usu. dull gray skin roughened by minute tubercles and are typically active predators sometimes dangerous to humans
  2. a rapacious crafty person who takes advantage of others often through usury, extortion, or devious means
    • loan shark s
  3. one who excels greatly esp. in a particular field
  4. to gather hastily
  5. to obtain by some irregular means
  6. to practice fraud or trickery
  7. sneak

shark repellent -n

  1. any of various measures that a company uses to fend off unwanted takeover attempts

shark·skin ['shärk-,skin] -n

  1. the hide of a shark or leather made from it
  2. a smooth durable woolen or worsted suiting in twill or basket weave with small woven designs
  3. a smooth crisp fabric with a dull finish made usu. of rayon in basket weave

shark sucker -n

  1. remora

sharp ['shärp] -adj, adv, n

  1. : adapted to cutting or piercing: as
  2. having a thin keen edge or fine point
  3. briskly or bitingly cold : nipping
    • a sharp wind
  4. keen in intellect : quick-witted
  5. keen in perception : acute
    • sharp sight
  6. keen in attention : vigilant
    • keep a sharp lookout
  7. keen in attention to one's own interest sometimes to the point of being unethical
    • a sharp trader
  8. corrupt, unethical
    • sharp business practices
  9. : keen in spirit or action: as
  10. full of activity or energy : brisk
    • sharp blows
  11. capable of acting or reacting strongly
  12. caustic
  13. : severe, harsh: as
  14. inclined to or marked by irritability or anger
    • a sharp temper
  15. causing intense mental or physical distress
    • a sharp pain
  16. cutting in language or import
    • a sharp rebuke
  17. : affecting the senses or sense organs intensely: as
  18. having a strong odor or flavor
    • sharp cheese
  19. acrid
  20. having a strong piercing sound
  21. having the effect of or involving a sudden brilliant display of light
    • a sharp flash
  22. terminating in a point or edge
    • sharp features
  23. involving an abrupt or marked change esp. in direction
    • a sharp turn
  24. clear in outline or detail : distinct
    • a sharp image
  25. set forth with clarity and distinctness
    • sharp contrast
  26. raised a half step in pitch
  27. higher than the proper pitch
  28. major, augmented used of an interval in music
  29. stylish, dressy
  30. in a sharp manner
  31. exactly
    • 1:15 sharp
  32. : one that is sharp: as
  33. a sharp edge or point
  34. a musical note or tone one half step higher than a note or tone named
  35. a character on a line or space of the musical staff indicating a pitch a half step higher than the degree would indicate without it
  36. a needle with a small eye for sewing by hand
  37. a real or self-proclaimed expert
  38. sharper
  39. to raise (as a musical tone) in pitch
  40. to raise in pitch by a half step
  41. to sing or play above the proper pitch

sharpei [,shä-'pā, ,shär-] -n

  1. any of an ancient breed of dogs originating in China that have loose wrinkled skin esp. when young, a short bristly coat, blue-black tongue, and wide blunt muzzle

sharp·en ['shär-pən] -vb, n

  1. to make sharp or sharper
  2. hone
  3. to become sharp or sharper

sharp·er ['shär-pər] -n

  1. cheat, swindler
  2. a cheating gambler

sharpeyed ['shärp-'īd] -adj

  1. having keen sight
  2. keen in observing or penetrating

sharp·ie ['shär-pē] -n

  1. a long narrow shallow-draft boat with flat or slightly V-shaped bottom and one or two masts each carrying a triangular sail
  2. sharper
  3. an exceptionally keen or alert person

sharpnosed ['shärp-'nōzd] -adj

  1. keen in smelling
  2. having a pointed nose or snout

sharp practice -n

  1. the act of dealing in which advantage is taken or sought unscrupulously

sharpset ['shärp-'set] -adj

  1. eager in appetite or desire

sharpshinned hawk ['shärp-'shind-] -n

  1. a common widely distributed American accipiter ( Accipiter striatus) that is grayish above, has a chestnut breast, short rounded wings, and a tail with a notched or square tip when folded called also sharp-shin

sharp·shoot·er ['shärp-,shü-tər] -n

  1. a proficient marksman
  2. a consistently accurate shooter (as in basketball)

sharp·shoot·ing [-,shü-tiŋ] -n

  1. shooting with great precision
  2. accurate and usu. unexpected attack (as in words)

sharpsight·ed [-'sī-təd] -adj, adv, n

  1. having acute sight
  2. mentally keen or alert

sharptongued [-'təŋd] -adj

  1. having a sharp tongue : harsh or bitter in speech or language

sharpwit·ted [-'wi-təd] -adj

  1. having an acute mind

shash·lik [shäsh-'lik, 'shäsh-lik] -n

  1. kebab

Shas·ta daisy ['shas-tə-] -n

  1. a large-flowered hybrid garden daisy ( Chrysanthemumx superbumsyn. Leucanthemumx superbum) that resembles the oxeye daisy

shat ['shit, interjectionally also 'shē-ət] -n, adj

(variant of shit)

  1. feces
  2. an act of defecation
  3. nonsense, crap
  4. any of several intoxicating or narcotic drugs
  5. heroin
  6. damn
  7. a worthless, offensive, or detestable person
  8. used as an interjection
  9. used as an intensive usu. with the
  10. defecate
  11. to defecate in
  12. to attempt to deceive : bullshit

shat·ter ['sha-tər] -vb, adv

  1. to cause to drop or be dispersed
  2. to break at once into pieces
  3. to damage badly : ruin
  4. to cause the disruption or annihilation of : demolish
  5. to break apart : disintegrate
  6. to drop off parts (as leaves, petals, or fruit)

shatter -n

  1. fragment, shred usu. used in pl.
    • the broken vase lay in shatter s
  2. an act of shattering : the state of being shattered
  3. a result of shattering : shower

shatter cone -n

  1. a conical fragment of rock that has striations radiating from the apex and that is formed by high pressure (as from volcanism or meteorite impact)

shat·ter·proof ['sha-tər-,prüf] -adj

  1. proof against shattering

shave ['shāv] -vb

  1. to remove a thin layer from
  2. to cut off in thin layers or shreds : slice
  3. to cut off closely
  4. to sever the hair from (the head or another part of the body) close to the roots
  5. to cut off (hair or beard) close to the skin
  6. to discount (a note) at an exorbitant rate
  7. deduct, reduce
  8. to conspire to score fewer (points) than one is capable of (as to affect gambling outcomes)
  9. to come close to or touch lightly in passing
  10. to cut off hair or beard close to the skin
  11. to proceed with difficulty : scrape
  12. shaver
  13. a thin slice : shaving
  14. an act or the process of shaving

shave·ling ['shāv-liŋ] -n

  1. a tonsured clergyman : priest
  2. youth, stripling

shav·er ['shā-vər] -n

  1. a person who shaves
  2. one who swindles
  3. a tool or machine for shaving
  4. an electric razor
  5. boy, youngster

shaves ['shaft] -n

(variant of shaft)

  1. the long handle of a spear or similar weapon
  2. spear, lance
  3. pole
  4. either of two long pieces of wood between which a horse is hitched to a vehicle
  5. an arrow esp. for a longbow
  6. the body or stem of an arrow extending from the nock to the head
  7. a sharply delineated beam of light shining through an opening
  8. : something suggestive of the shaft of a spear or arrow esp. in long slender cylindrical form: as
  9. the trunk of a tree
  10. the cylindrical pillar between the capital and the base
  11. the handle of a tool or instrument (as a golf club)
  12. a commonly cylindrical bar used to support rotating pieces or to transmit power or motion by rotation
  13. the stem or central axis of a feather
  14. the upright member of a cross esp. below the arms
  15. the cylindrical part of a long bone between the enlarged ends
  16. a small architectural column (as at each side of a doorway)
  17. a column, obelisk, or other spire-shaped or columnar monument
  18. a vertical or inclined opening of uniform and limited cross section made for finding or mining ore, raising water, or ventilating underground workings (as in a cave)
  19. the part of a hair that is visible above the surface of the skin
  20. a vertical opening or passage through the floors of a building
  21. a projectile thrown like a spear or shot like an arrow
  22. a scornful, satirical, or pithily critical remark or attack
  23. harsh or unfair treatment usu. used with the
    • gave them the shaft
  24. to fit with a shaft
  25. to treat unfairly or harshly

shave·tail ['shāv-,tāl] -n

  1. a pack mule esp. when newly broken in
  2. second lieutenant

Sha·vi·an ['shā-vē-ən] -n, adj

  1. an admirer or devotee of G. B. Shaw, his writings, or his social and political theories

shav·ie ['shā-vē] -n

  1. prank

shaving -n

  1. the act of one that shaves
  2. something shaved off
    • wood shaving s

shaw ['shȯ] -n

  1. coppice, thicket
  2. the tops and stalks of a cultivated crop (as potatoes or turnips)

sha·war·ma [shä-'wȯr-mə, 'shwȯr-mə] -n

  1. a sandwich esp. of sliced lamb or chicken, vegetables, and often tahini wrapped in pita bread

shawl ['shȯl] -n

  1. a square or oblong usu. fabric garment or wrapper used esp. as a covering for the head or shoulders
  2. to wrap in or as if in a shawl

shawl collar -n

  1. a turned-over collar of a garment that combines with lapels forming an unbroken curving line

shawm ['shȯm] -n

  1. an early double-reed woodwind instrument

Shaw·nee [shȯ-'nē, shä-] -n

  1. a member of an American Indian people orig. of the central Ohio valley
  2. the Algonquian language of the Shawnee people

Shaw·wal [shə-'wäl] -n

  1. the 10th month of the Islamic year

shay ['shā] -n

  1. chaise

shd -abbr

  1. should

she ['shē] -pron

  1. that female one who is neither speaker nor hearer
    • she is my wife
  2. used to refer to one regarded as feminine (as by personification)
    • she was a fine ship
  3. used as an alternative to he to refer to a person of unspecified gender
    • allow anyone to do whatever she wants -- D. J. Callahan
  4. a female person or animal often used in combination
    • she -cat
    • she -cousin

shea butter ['shē-, 'shā-] -n

  1. a pale solid fat from the seeds of the shea tree used in food, soap, and candles

sheaf ['shēf] -n, adj

  1. a quantity of the stalks and ears of a cereal grass or sometimes other plant material bound together
  2. something resembling a sheaf of grain
    • a sheaf of papers
  3. a large amount or number
    • won a sheaf of awards

shea nut -n

  1. the seed of the shea tree

shear ['shir] -vb, n

  1. to cut off the hair from
  2. to cut or clip (as hair or wool) from someone or something
  3. to cut something from
    • shear a lawn
  4. to reap with a sickle
  5. to cut or trim with shears or a similar instrument
  6. to cut with something sharp
  7. to deprive of something as if by cutting
    • lives shorn of any hope -- M. W. Browne
  8. to subject to a shear force
  9. to cause (as a rock mass) to move along the plane of contact
  10. to cut through something with or as if with a sharp instrument
  11. to reap crops with a sickle
  12. to become divided under the action of a shear
  13. a cutting implement similar or identical to a pair of scissors but typically larger usu. used in pl.
  14. one blade of a pair of shears
  15. any of various cutting tools or machines operating by the action of opposed cutting edges of metal usu. used in pl.
  16. something resembling a shear or a pair of shears
  17. a hoisting apparatus consisting of two or sometimes more upright spars fastened together at their upper ends and having tackle for masting or dismasting ships or lifting heavy loads (as guns) usu. used in pl. but sing. or pl. in constr.
  18. the action or process or an instance of shearing used in combination to indicate the approximate age of sheep in terms of shearings undergone
  19. internal force tangential to the section on which it acts called also shearing force
  20. an action or stress resulting from applied forces that causes or tends to cause two contiguous parts of a body to slide relatively to each other in a direction parallel to their plane of contact

sheared -adj

  1. formed or finished by shearing
  2. cut to uniform length
    • a sheared rug

shear·ling ['shir-liŋ] -n

  1. skin from a recently sheared sheep or lamb that has been tanned and dressed with the wool left on

shear pin -n

  1. an easily replaceable pin inserted at a critical point in a machine and designed to break when stressed to excess

shear·wa·ter ['shir-,wȯ-tər, -,wä-] -n

  1. any of numerous oceanic birds (esp. genus Puffinus) that are related to the petrels and usu. skim close to the waves in flight

sheath ['shēth] -n

  1. a case for a blade (as of a knife)
  2. : an investing cover or case of a plant or animal body or body part: as
  3. the tubular fold of skin into which the penis of many mammals is retracted
  4. the lower part of a leaf (as of a grass) when surrounding the stem
  5. an ensheathing spathe
  6. : any of various covering or supporting structures that are applied like or resemble in appearance or function the sheath of a blade: as
  7. sheathing
  8. a woman's close-fitting dress that is usu. worn without a belt
  9. condom

sheath·bill ['shēth-,bil] -n

  1. either of two white shorebirds ( Chionis albaand C. minorof the family Chionididae) of colder parts of the southern hemisphere that have a horny sheath over the base of the upper mandible and suggest the pigeons in general appearance

sheathe ['shēth] -vt, n

  1. to put into or furnish with a sheath
  2. to plunge or bury (as a sword) in flesh
  3. to withdraw (a claw) into a sheath
  4. to case or cover with something (as sheets of metal) that protects

sheath·ing ['shē-thiŋ, -thiŋ] -n

  1. the action of one that sheathes something
  2. material used to sheathe something
  3. the first covering of boards or of waterproof material on the outside wall of a frame house or on a timber roof

sheath knife -n

  1. a knife having a fixed blade and designed to be carried in a sheath

shea tree ['shē-, 'shā-] -n

  1. a tropical African tree ( Vitellaria paradoxasyn. Butyrospermum parkii) of the sapodilla family with fatty nuts that yield shea butter

sheave ['shiv, 'shēv] -n

  1. a grooved wheel or pulley (as of a pulley block)
  2. to gather and bind into a sheaf

she·bang [shi-'baŋ] -n

  1. everything involved in what is under consideration usu. used in the phrase the whole shebang

She·bat [shə-'bät, -'vät] -n

  1. the 5th month of the civil year or the 11th month of the ecclesiastical year in the Jewish calendar

she·been [shə-'bēn] -n

  1. an unlicensed or illegally operated drinking establishment

She·chi·nah [shə-'k̲ē-nə, -'kē-nə, -'kī-nə] -n

  1. the presence of God in the world as conceived in Jewish theology

shecrab ['shē-'krab] -n

  1. an immature female blue crab

shed ['shed] -vb

  1. to set apart : segregate
  2. to cause to be dispersed without penetrating
    • duck's plumage shed s water
  3. to cause (blood) to flow by cutting or wounding
  4. to pour forth in drops
    • shed tears
  5. to give off or out
    • shed s some light on the subject
  6. : to give off, discharge, or expel from the body of a plant or animal: as
  7. to eject, slough off, or lose as part of the normal processes of life
    • a caterpillar shedding its skin
    • a cat shedding hair
    • a deciduous tree shed s its leaves in the fall
  8. to discharge usu. gradually esp. as part of a pathological process
    • shed a virus in the feces
  9. to rid oneself of temporarily or permanently as superfluous or unwanted
    • shed her inhibitions
    • the company shed 100 jobs
  10. to pour out : spill
  11. to become dispersed : scatter
  12. to cast off some natural covering (as fur or skin)
    • the cat is shedding
  13. distinction, difference
  14. something (as the skin of a snake) that is discarded in shedding
  15. a divide of land
  16. a slight structure built for shelter or storage
  17. a single-storied building with one or more sides unenclosed
  18. a building that resembles a shed
  19. hut
  20. to put or house in a shed

she'd ['shēd]

  1. she had : she would

shed·der ['she-dər] -n

  1. : one that sheds something: as
  2. a crab or lobster about to molt
  3. a newly molted crab

shed dormer -n

  1. a dormer with a roof sloping in the same direction as the roof from which the dormer projects

sheen ['shēn] -adj

  1. beautiful
  2. shining, resplendent
  3. to be bright : show a sheen
  4. a bright or shining condition : brightness
  5. a subdued glitter approaching but short of optical reflection
  6. a lustrous surface imparted to textiles through finishing processes or use of shiny yarns
  7. a textile exhibiting notable sheen

sheep ['shēp] -n

  1. any of various hollow-horned typically gregarious ruminant mammals (genus Ovis) related to the goats but stockier and lacking a beard in the male
  2. one ( O. aries) long domesticated esp. for its flesh and wool
  3. a timid defenseless creature
  4. a timid docile person
  5. one easily influenced or led
  6. leather prepared from the skins of sheep : sheepskin

sheep·cote [-,kōt, -,kät] -n

  1. sheepfold

sheep·dog [-,dȯg] -n

  1. a dog (as a border collie) used to tend, drive, or guard sheep

sheep fescue -n

  1. a hardy fine-foliaged fescue ( Festuca ovina) widely used as a pasture grass called also sheep's fescue

sheep·fold ['shēp-,fōld] -n

  1. a pen or shelter for sheep

sheep·herd·er ['shēp-,hər-dər] -n

  1. a worker in charge of sheep esp. on open range

sheep·herd·ing [-,hər-diŋ] -n

  1. the activities of a worker engaged in tending sheep

sheep·ish ['shē-pish] -adj, adv, n

  1. resembling a sheep in meekness, stupidity, or timidity
  2. affected by or showing embarrassment caused by consciousness of a fault
    • a sheepish grin

sheep ked ['shēp-,ked] -n

  1. a wingless bloodsucking dipteran fly ( Melophagus ovinus) that feeds chiefly on sheep and is a vector of sheep trypanosomiasis called also sheep tick

sheep laurel -n

  1. a dwarf shrub ( Kalmia angustifolia) of the heath family that is native to northeastern No. America and is poisonous to livestock and that resembles mountain laurel but has narrower leaves and smaller bright red flowers called also lambkill

sheep's eye -n

  1. a shy longing usu. amorous glance usu. used in pl.

sheep·shank ['shēp-,shaŋk] -n

  1. a knot for shortening a line
  2. something of no worth or importance

sheeps·head ['shēps-,hed] -n

  1. a marine bony fish ( Archosargus probatocephalusof the family Sparidae) of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U.S. that has broad front teeth and is used for food
  2. freshwater drum
  3. a largely red or rose-colored wrasse ( Semicossyphus pulcher) of the California coast

sheep·shear·er ['shēp-,shir-ər] -n

  1. one that shears sheep

sheep·shear·ing ['shēp-,shir-iŋ] -n

  1. the act of shearing sheep
  2. the time or season for shearing sheep

sheep·skin [-,skin] -n

  1. the skin of a sheep
  2. leather prepared from it
  3. parchment
  4. a garment made of or lined with sheepskin
  5. diploma

sheep sorrel -n

  1. a small dock ( Rumex acetosella) of acidic soils

sheep walk -n

  1. a pasture or range for sheep

sheer ['shir] -vb

  1. to deviate from a course : swerve
  2. to cause to sheer
  3. a turn, deviation, or change in a course (as of a ship)
  4. the position of a ship riding to a single anchor and heading toward it
  5. bright, shining
  6. of very thin or transparent texture : diaphanous
  7. unqualified, utter
    • sheer folly
    • sheer ignorance
  8. being free from an adulterant : pure, unmixed
  9. viewed or acting in dissociation from all else
    • in terms of sheer numbers
  10. marked by great and continuous steepness
  11. in a complete manner : altogether
  12. straight up or down without a break : perpendicularly
  13. a sheer fabric
  14. an article of such a fabric
  15. the fore-and-aft curvature from bow to stern of a ship's deck as shown in side elevation

sheer·legs ['shir-,legz, -,lāgz] -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. shear

sheesh ['shēsh] -interj

  1. used to express disappointment, annoyance, or surprise

sheet ['shēt] -n, adj

  1. a broad piece of cloth
  2. bedsheet
  3. sail
  4. a usu. rectangular piece of paper
  5. one manufactured for printing
  6. a rectangular piece of heavy paper with a plant specimen mounted on it
    • an herbarium of 100,000 sheet s
  7. a printed signature for a book esp. before it has been folded, cut, or bound usu. used in pl.
  8. a newspaper, periodical, or occasional publication
    • a gossip sheet
  9. the unseparated postage stamps printed by one impression of a plate on a single piece of paper
  10. a pane of stamps
  11. a broad stretch or surface of something
    • a sheet of ice
  12. a suspended or moving expanse (as of fire or rain)
  13. a portion of something that is thin in comparison to its length and breadth
  14. a flat baking pan of tinned metal
    • a cookie sheet
  15. a surface or part of a surface in which it is possible to pass from any one point of it to any other without leaving the surface
    • a hyperboloid of two sheet s
  16. rolled or spread out in a sheet
  17. of, relating to, or concerned with the making of sheet metal
  18. to cover with a sheet
    • floors sheet ed with dust
  19. to furnish with sheets
  20. to form into sheets
  21. to fall, spread, or flow in a sheet
    • the rain sheet ed against the windows
  22. a rope or chain that regulates the angle at which a sail is set in relation to the wind
  23. the spaces at either end of an open boat not occupied by thwarts : foresheets and stern sheets together
  24. to move or set (a sail) by manipulation of a sheet

sheet anchor -n

  1. a large strong anchor formerly carried in the waist of a ship and used as a spare in an emergency
  2. something that constitutes a main support or dependence esp. in danger

sheet bend -n

  1. a bend or hitch used for temporarily fastening a rope to the bight of another rope or to an eye

sheet·fed ['shēt-,fed] -adj

  1. of, relating to, being, or printed by a press that prints on paper in sheet form

sheet glass -n

  1. glass made in large sheets directly from the furnace or by making a cylinder and then flattening it

sheet·ing ['shē-tiŋ] -n

  1. : material in the form of sheets or suitable for forming into sheets: as
  2. a sturdy plain-woven cloth usu. of cotton used esp. for bedsheets
  3. material (as a plastic) in the form of a continuous film
  4. a lining (as wood or steel) used to support an embankment or the walls of an excavation

sheet lightning -n

  1. lightning in diffused or sheet form due to reflection and diffusion by the clouds and sky

sheet metal -n

  1. metal in the form of a sheet

sheet music -n

  1. music printed on large unbound sheets of paper

Sheet·rock ['shēt-,räk] -trademark

  1. used for drywall

sheikh ['shēk, also 'shāk for 1] -n

  1. an Arab chief
  2. a man held to be irresistibly attractive to romantic young women

sheikh·dom [-dəm, -təm] -n

  1. a region under the rule of a sheikh

shei·la ['shē-lə] -n

  1. a girl or young woman

shek·el ['she-kəl] -n

  1. any of various ancient units of weight
  2. a Hebrew unit equal to about 252 grains troy
  3. a unit of value based on a shekel weight of gold or silver
  4. a coin weighing one shekel
  5. money

shel·drake ['shel-,drāk] -n

  1. shelduck
  2. merganser

shel·duck [-,dək] -n

  1. any of various Old World ducks (genus Tadorna)
  2. a common mostly black-and-white duck ( T. tadorna) slightly larger than the mallard

shelf ['shelf] -n, adj

  1. a thin flat usu. long and narrow piece of material (as wood) fastened horizontally (as on a wall) at a distance from the floor to hold objects
  2. one of several similar pieces in a closet, bookcase, or similar structure
  3. the contents of a shelf
    • the author of a shelf of best sellers
  4. : something resembling a shelf in form or position: as
  5. a sandbank or ledge of rocks usu. partially submerged
  6. a flat projecting layer of rock
  7. the submerged gradually sloping border of a continent or island : continental shelf

shelf fungus -n

  1. bracket fungus

shelf ice -n

  1. an extensive ice sheet originating on land but continuing out to sea beyond the depths at which it rests on the sea bottom

shelf life -n

  1. the period of time during which a material may be stored and remain suitable for use
  2. the period of time during which something lasts or remains popular

shell ['shel] -n, adj

  1. a hard rigid usu. largely calcareous covering or support of an animal
  2. the hard or tough often thin outer covering of an egg (as of a bird or reptile)
  3. the covering or outside part of a fruit or seed esp. when hard or fibrous
  4. shell material (as of mollusks or turtles) or their substance
  5. : something that resembles a shell: as
  6. a framework or exterior structure
  7. a building with an unfinished interior
  8. an external case or outside covering
    • the shell of a ship
  9. a thin usu. spherical layer or surface enclosing a space or surrounding an object
    • an expanding shell of gas around a neutron star
  10. a casing without substance
    • mere effigies and shell s of men -- Thomas Carlyle
  11. an edible crust for holding a filling
    • a pastry shell
    • a taco salad in a tortilla shell
  12. band shell
  13. a small beer glass
  14. an unlined article of outerwear
  15. a shell-bearing mollusk
  16. an impersonal attitude or manner that conceals the presence or absence of feeling
    • he retreated into his shell
  17. a narrow light racing boat propelled by one or more persons pulling oars or sculls
  18. any of the regions occupied by the orbits of a group of electrons of approximately equal energy surrounding the nucleus of an atom
  19. a projectile for cannon containing an explosive bursting charge
  20. a metal or paper case which holds the charge of powder and shot or bullet used with breech-loading small arms
  21. a plain usu. sleeveless blouse or sweater
  22. a company or corporation that exists without assets or independent operations as a legal entity through which another company or corporation can conduct various dealings
  23. to take out of a natural enclosing cover (as a shell, husk, pod, or capsule)
    • shell peanuts
  24. to separate the kernels of (as an ear of Indian corn, wheat, or oats) from the cob, ear, or husk
  25. to throw shells at, upon, or into : bombard
  26. to score heavily against (as an opposing pitcher in baseball)
  27. to fall or scale off in thin pieces
  28. to cast the shell or exterior covering : fall out of the pod or husk
    • nuts which shell in falling
  29. to gather shells (as from a beach)

she'll ['shēl, 'shil]

  1. she will : she shall

shel·lac [shə-'lak] -n

  1. purified lac usu. prepared in thin orange or yellow flakes by heating and filtering and often bleached white
  2. a preparation of lac dissolved usu. in alcohol and used chiefly as a wood filler and finish
  3. a composition containing shellac formerly used for making phonograph records
  4. an old 78 rpm phonograph record

shellac -vt

  1. to coat or otherwise treat with shellac or a shellac varnish
  2. to defeat decisively

shellacking -n

  1. a decisive defeat : drubbing

shell·back ['shel-,bak] -n

  1. an old or veteran sailor
  2. a person who has crossed the equator and been initiated in the traditional ceremony

shell bean -n

  1. a bean grown primarily for its edible seeds
  2. the edible seed of a bean

shell·crack·er ['shel-,kra-kər] -n

  1. redear

shelled ['sheld] -adj

  1. having a shell esp. of a specified kind often used in combination
    • pink- shelled
    • thick- shelled
  2. having the shell removed
    • shelled nuts
  3. removed from the cob
    • shelled corn

shell·er ['she-lər] -n

  1. one that shells
    • a peanut sheller
  2. a person who collects seashells

shell·fish [-,fish] -n

  1. an aquatic invertebrate animal with a shell
  2. an edible mollusk or crustacean

shell·fish·ery [-,fi-shə-rē, -,fish-rē] -n

  1. a commercially exploited population of shellfish

shell game -n

  1. thimblerig played esp. with three walnut shells
  2. fraud
  3. a swindle involving the substitution of something of little or no value for a valuable item

shell jacket -n

  1. a short tight military jacket worn buttoned up the front
  2. mess jacket

shell out -vb

  1. pay

shell pink -n

  1. a light yellowish pink

shell·proof ['shel-,prüf] -adj

  1. capable of resisting shells or bombs

shell shock -n

  1. combat fatigue

shellshocked -adj

  1. affected with combat fatigue
  2. mentally confused, upset, or exhausted as a result of excessive stress

shell steak -n

  1. the part of a short loin of beef that contains no tenderloin

shell·work ['shel-,wərk] -n

  1. work adorned with shells or composed of a pattern of shells

shelly ['she-lē] -adj

  1. abounding in or covered with shells
    • a shelly shore
  2. of, relating to, or resembling a shell

shel·ter ['shel-tər] -n, adj

  1. something that covers or affords protection
    • a bomb shelter
  2. an establishment providing food and shelter (as to the homeless)
  3. an establishment that houses and feeds stray animals
  4. a position or the state of being covered and protected
    • took shelter

shelter [-t(ə-)riŋ] -vb, n

  1. to constitute or provide a shelter for : protect
    • has led a shelter ed life
  2. to place under shelter or protection
    • shelter ed himself in a mountain cave
  3. to protect (income) from taxation
  4. to take shelter

shel·ter·belt ['shel-tər-,belt] -n

  1. a barrier of trees and shrubs that protects (as crops) from wind and storm and lessens erosion

shelter half -n

  1. one of the halves of a shelter tent

shelter tent -n

  1. a small tent usu. consisting of two interchangeable pieces : pup tent

shel·tie ['shel-tē] -n

  1. shetland pony
  2. shetland sheepdog

shelve ['shelv] -vb, n

  1. to furnish with shelves
  2. to place on a shelf
    • shelve books
  3. to remove from active service
  4. to put off or aside
    • shelve a project
  5. to slope in a formation like a shelf

shelving -n

  1. a sloping surface or place
  2. the state or degree of sloping
  3. material for shelves
  4. shelves

Shem ['shem] -n

  1. the eldest son of Noah held to be the progenitor of the Semitic peoples

She·ma [shə-'mä] -n

  1. the Jewish confession of faith made up of Deut 6:49 and 11:1321 and Num 15:3741

She·mi·ni Atze·reth [shə-'mē-nē-ät-'ser-ət, -əth, -əs] -n

  1. a Jewish festival following the seventh day of Sukkoth and marked by a special prayer for seasonal rain

Shem·ite ['she-,mīt] -n, adj

  1. semite

she·nan·i·gan [shə-'na-ni-gən] -n

  1. a devious trick used esp. for an underhand purpose
  2. tricky or questionable practices or conduct usu. used in pl.
  3. high-spirited or mischievous activity usu. used in pl.

shend ['shend] -vt

  1. to put to shame or confusion
  2. reprove, revile
  3. injure, mar
  4. ruin, destroy

sheoak ['shē-,ōk] -n

  1. any of various casuarinas

She·ol [shē-'ōl, 'shē-,] -n

  1. the abode of the dead in early Hebrew thought

shep·herd ['she-pərd] -n

  1. a person who tends sheep
  2. pastor
  3. german shepherd

shepherd -vt

  1. to tend as a shepherd
  2. to guide or guard in the manner of a shepherd
    • shepherd ed the bill through Congress

shepherd dog -n

  1. sheepdog

shep·herd·ess ['she-pər-dəs] -n

  1. a woman or girl who tends sheep
  2. a rural girl or woman

shepherd's check -n

  1. a pattern of small even black-and-white checks
  2. a fabric woven in this pattern called also shepherd's plaid

shepherd's pie -n

  1. a meat pie with a mashed potato crust

shepherd's purse -n

  1. a white-flowered weedy annual herb ( Capsella bursa-pastoris) of the mustard family with flat heart-shaped pods

sheqel ['she-kəl] -n

(variant of shekel)

  1. any of various ancient units of weight
  2. a Hebrew unit equal to about 252 grains troy
  3. a unit of value based on a shekel weight of gold or silver
  4. a coin weighing one shekel
  5. money

Sher·a·ton ['sher-ə-tən] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or being a style of furniture that originated in England around 1800 and is characterized by straight lines and graceful proportions

sher·bet ['shər-bət] -n

  1. a cold drink of sweetened and diluted fruit juice
  2. an ice with milk, egg white, or gelatin added

sherd ['shärd] -n

(variant of shard)

  1. a piece or fragment of a brittle substance
    • shard s of glass
  2. a small piece or part : scrap
    • little shard s of time and space recorded by the camera's lens -- Rosalind Krauss
  3. shell, scale
  4. elytron
  5. fragments of pottery vessels found on sites and in refuse deposits where pottery-making peoples have lived
  6. highly angular curved glass fragments of tuffaceous sediments

sher·got·tite ['shər-gə-,tīt] -n

  1. any of a class of achondritic geologically young meteorites of feldspar and pyroxene

sherif [shə-'rēf] -n, adj

(variant of sharif)

  1. a descendant of the prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima
  2. one of noble ancestry or political preeminence in predominantly Islamic countries

sher·iff ['sher-əf] -n

  1. an important official of a shire or county charged primarily with judicial duties (as executing the processes and orders of courts and judges)

sher·lock ['shər-,läk, -lək] -n

  1. detective

she·ro ['shir-(,)ō] -n

  1. a woman regarded as a hero

Sher·pa ['sher-pə, 'shər-] -n

  1. a member of a Tibetan people living on the high southern slopes of the Himalayas in eastern Nepal and known for providing support for foreign trekkers and mountain climbers

sher·ris ['sher-ē] -n

(variant of sherry)

  1. a Spanish fortified wine with a distinctive nutty flavor
  2. a similar wine produced elsewhere

sher·ry ['sher-ē] -n

  1. a Spanish fortified wine with a distinctive nutty flavor
  2. a similar wine produced elsewhere

she's ['shēz]

  1. she is : she has

Shet·land ['shet-lənd] -n

  1. shetland pony
  2. shetland sheepdog
  3. a lightweight loosely twisted yarn of Shetland wool used for knitting and weaving
  4. a fabric or a garment made from Shetland wool

Shetland pony -n

  1. any of a breed of small stocky hardy ponies that originated in the Shetland Islands

Shetland sheepdog -n

  1. any of a breed of small heavy-coated dogs developed in the Shetland Islands that resemble miniature collies

Shetland wool -n

  1. fine wool from sheep raised in the Shetland Islands
  2. yarn spun from this

sheugh ['shük̲] -n

  1. ditch, trench

shew ['shō] -vb, adj

(variant of show)

  1. to cause or permit to be seen : exhibit
    • show ed pictures of the baby
  2. to offer for sale
    • stores were show ing new spring suits
  3. to present as a public spectacle : perform
  4. to reveal by one's condition, nature, or behavior
    • show ed themselves to be cowards
  5. to give indication or record of
    • an anemometer show s wind speed
  6. to point out : direct attention to
    • show ed the view from the terrace
  7. conduct, usher
    • show ed me to an aisle seat
  8. accord, bestow
    • show s them no mercy
  9. to set forth : declare
  10. allege, plead used esp. in law
    • show cause
  11. to demonstrate or establish by argument or reasoning
    • show a plan to be faulty
  12. inform, instruct
    • show ed me how to solve the problem
  13. to present (an animal) for judging in a show
  14. to be or come in view
    • 3:15 show ed on the clock
  15. to put in an appearance
    • failed to show
  16. to appear in a particular way
    • anger show ed in their faces
  17. seem, appear
  18. to give a theatrical performance
  19. to be staged or presented
  20. to appear as a contestant
  21. to present an animal in a show
  22. to finish third or at least third (as in a horse race)
  23. to exhibit one's artistic work
  24. a demonstrative display
    • a show of strength
  25. outward appearance
  26. a false semblance : pretense
    • made a show of friendship
  27. a more or less true appearance of something : sign
  28. an impressive display
    • his role as househusband...was purely for show -- John Lahr
  29. ostentation
  30. chance
    • gave him a show in spite of his background
  31. something exhibited esp. for wonder or ridicule : spectacle
  32. a large display or exhibition arranged to arouse interest or stimulate sales
    • the national auto show
  33. a competitive exhibition of animals (as dogs) to demonstrate quality in breeding
  34. a theatrical presentation
  35. a radio or television program
  36. entertainment
  37. enterprise, affair
    • they ran the whole show
  38. third place at the finish (as of a horse race)
  39. the major leagues in baseball used with the

shew·bread ['shō-,bred] -n

  1. consecrated unleavened bread ritually placed by the Jewish priests of ancient Israel on a table in the sanctuary of the Tabernacle on the Sabbath

SHF -abbr

  1. superhigh frequency

Shia ['shē-(,)ä] -n

  1. the Muslims of the branch of Islam comprising sects believing in Ali and the Imams as the only rightful successors of Muhammad and in the concealment and messianic return of the last recognized Imam
  2. shiite
  3. the branch of Islam formed by the Shia

shi·at·su [shē-'ät-(,)sü] -n

  1. acupressure
  2. a form of acupressure that originated in Japan

Shi·ba Inu ['shē-bā-'ē-nü] -n

  1. any of a breed of small thick-coated agile dogs developed in Japan

shib·bo·leth ['shi-bə-ləth also -,leth] -n

  1. a word or saying used by adherents of a party, sect, or belief and usu. regarded by others as empty of real meaning
    • the old shibboleth s come rolling off their lips -- Joseph Epstein
  2. a widely held belief
    • today this book publishing shibboleth is a myth -- L. A. Wood
  3. truism, platitude
    • some truth in the shibboleth that crime does not pay -- Lee Rogow
  4. a use of language regarded as distinctive of a particular group
    • accent was...a shibboleth of social class -- Vivian Ducat
  5. a custom or usage regarded as distinguishing one group from others
    • for most of the well-to-do in the town, dinner was a shibboleth, its hour dividing mankind -- Osbert Sitwell

shiel ['shēl] -n

  1. shieling

shield ['shēld] -n

  1. a broad piece of defensive armor carried on the arm
  2. one that protects or defends : defense
  3. dress shield
  4. a device or part that serves as a protective cover or barrier
  5. a protective structure (as a carapace, scale, or plate) of some animals
  6. escutcheon
  7. one that is wide at the top and rounds to a point at the bottom
  8. the Precambrian nuclear mass of a continent that is surrounded and sometimes covered by sedimentary rocks
  9. : something resembling a shield: as
  10. apothecium
  11. a police officer's badge
  12. a decorative or identifying emblem
  13. to protect with or as if with a shield : provide with a protective cover or shelter
  14. to cut off from observation : hide
  15. forbid

shield law -n

  1. a law that protects journalists from forced disclosure of confidential news sources

shield volcano -n

  1. a broad rounded volcano that is built up by successive outpourings of very fluid lava

shiel·ing ['shē-lən, -liŋ] -n

  1. a mountain hut used as a shelter by shepherds
  2. a summer pasture in the mountains

shier ['shī] -adj, adv, n

(variant of shy)

  1. easily frightened : timid
  2. disposed to avoid a person or thing
    • publicity shy
  3. hesitant in committing oneself : circumspect
  4. sensitively diffident or retiring : reserved
  5. expressive of such a state or nature
    • a shy smile
  6. secluded, hidden
  7. having less than the full or specified amount or number : short
    • just shy of six feet tall
  8. disreputable
    • gambling hells and shy saloons -- Blackwood's
  9. to develop or show a dislike or distaste usu. used with from or away from
    • an author who shies away from publicity
  10. to start suddenly aside through fright or alarm
  11. a sudden start aside (as from fright)
  12. to make a sudden throw
  13. to throw (an object) with a jerk : fling
  14. the act of shying : toss, throw
  15. a verbal fling or attack
  16. cockshy

shiest ['shī] -adj, adv, n

(variant of shy)

  1. easily frightened : timid
  2. disposed to avoid a person or thing
    • publicity shy
  3. hesitant in committing oneself : circumspect
  4. sensitively diffident or retiring : reserved
  5. expressive of such a state or nature
    • a shy smile
  6. secluded, hidden
  7. having less than the full or specified amount or number : short
    • just shy of six feet tall
  8. disreputable
    • gambling hells and shy saloons -- Blackwood's
  9. to develop or show a dislike or distaste usu. used with from or away from
    • an author who shies away from publicity
  10. to start suddenly aside through fright or alarm
  11. a sudden start aside (as from fright)
  12. to make a sudden throw
  13. to throw (an object) with a jerk : fling
  14. the act of shying : toss, throw
  15. a verbal fling or attack
  16. cockshy

shift ['shift] -vb, adj

  1. to exchange for or replace by another : change
  2. to change the place, position, or direction of : move
  3. to make a change in (place)
  4. to change phonetically
  5. to change place or position
  6. to change direction
    • the wind shift ed
  7. to change gears
  8. to depress the shift key (as on a typewriter)
  9. to assume responsibility
    • had to shift for themselves
  10. to resort to expedients
  11. to go through a change
    • she shift ed in her approach
  12. to change one's clothes
  13. to become changed phonetically
  14. a means or device for effecting an end
  15. a deceitful or underhand scheme : dodge
  16. an effort or expedient exerted or tried in difficult circumstances : extremity
    • was put to hard shift s for a living -- Benjamin Franklin
  17. a change of clothes
  18. shirt
  19. a woman's slip or chemise
  20. a usu. loose-fitting or semifitted dress
  21. a change in direction
    • a shift in the wind
  22. a change in emphasis, judgment, or attitude
  23. a group of people who work or occupy themselves in turn with other groups
  24. a change of one group of people (as workers) for another in regular alternation
  25. a scheduled period of work or duty
    • works the night shift
  26. : a change in place or position: as
  27. a change in the position of the hand on a fingerboard (as of a violin)
  28. fault
  29. the relative displacement of rock masses on opposite sides of a fault or fault zone
  30. a simultaneous change of position in football by two or more players from one side of the line to the other
  31. a change of positions made by one or more players in baseball to provide better defense against a particular hitter
  32. a change in frequency resulting in a change in position of a spectral line or band
  33. a movement of bits in a computer register a specified number of places to the right or left
  34. a removal from one person or thing to another : transfer
  35. consonant shift
  36. a bid in bridge in a suit other than the suit one's partner has bid
  37. gearshift

shift·er ['shif-tər] -n

  1. one that shifts
  2. gearshift

shift key -n

  1. a key on a keyboard that when pressed enables an alternate set of characters to be produced by the other keys

shift·less ['shif(t)-ləs] -adj, adv, n

  1. lacking in resourcefulness : inefficient
  2. lacking in ambition or incentive : lazy
    • shiftless freeloaders

shifty ['shif-tē] -adj, adv, n

  1. full of or ready with expedients : resourceful
  2. given to deception, evasion, or fraud : tricky
  3. capable of evasive movement : elusive
    • a shifty boxer
  4. indicative of a tricky nature
    • shifty eyes

shi·gel·la [shi-'ge-lə] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Shigella) of nonmotile rod-shaped bacteria that cause dysenteries in animals and esp. humans
  2. shigellosis

shig·el·lo·sis [,shi-gə-'lō-səs] -n

  1. dysentery caused by shigellae

shih tzu ['shēd-'zü, 'shēt-'sü] -n

  1. any of an old Chinese breed of toy dogs that have a square short unwrinkled muzzle, short muscular legs, and a long dense flowing coat

Shi'i [shē-'ē, 'shē-ē] -n, adj

  1. shiite

Shi·ism ['shē-,i-zəm] -n

  1. Islam as taught by the Shia

shii·ta·ke [shē-'tä-kē] -n

  1. a dark Asian mushroom ( Lentinus edodesof the family Agaricaceae) widely cultivated esp. on woods of the beech family for its edible flavorful tan to brown cap

Shi·ite ['shē-,īt] -n, adj

  1. a Muslim of the Shia branch of Islam

shi·ka·ri [shi-'kär-ē, -'ka-rē] -n

  1. a big game hunter
  2. a professional hunter or guide

shik·sa ['shik-sə] -n

  1. a non-Jewish girl or woman
  2. a Jewish girl or woman who does not observe Jewish precepts used esp. by Orthodox Jews

shill ['shil] -vi

  1. to act as a shill
  2. to act as a spokesperson or promoter
    • the eminent Shakespearean producer...is now shill ing for a brokerage house -- Andy Rooney
  3. one who acts as a decoy (as for a pitchman or gambler)
  4. one who makes a sales pitch or serves as a promoter
  5. pitch

shil·le·lagh [shə-'lā-lē] -n

  1. cudgel

shil·ling ['shi-liŋ] -n

  1. a former monetary unit of the United Kingdom equal to 12 pence or pound
  2. a former monetary unit equal to pound of any of various countries in or formerly in the Commonwealth of Nations
  3. a coin representing one shilling
  4. any of several early American coins

Shil·luk [shi-'lük] -n

  1. a member of a Nilotic people of the Sudan dwelling mainly on the west bank of the White Nile
  2. the language of the Shilluk people

shillyshally ['shi-lē-,sha-lē] -adv

  1. in an irresolute, undecided, or hesitating manner
  2. irresolute, vacillating
  3. to show hesitation or lack of decisiveness or resolution
  4. dawdle
  5. indecision, irresolution

shil·pit ['shil-pət] -adj

  1. pinched and starved in appearance
  2. weak, insipid used of drink

shim ['shim] -n

  1. a thin often tapered piece of material (as wood, metal, or stone) used to fill in space between things (as for support, leveling, or adjustment of fit)
  2. to fill out or level up by the use of a shim

shim·mer ['shi-mər] -vb

  1. to shine with a soft tremulous or fitful light : glimmer
  2. to reflect a wavering sometimes distorted visual image
  3. to cause to shimmer

shimmer ['shi-mə-rē, 'shim-rē] -n, adj

  1. a light that shimmers : subdued sparkle or sheen : glimmer
  2. a wavering sometimes distorted visual image usu. resulting from heat-induced changes in atmospheric refraction

shim·my ['shi-mē] -n

  1. chemise
  2. a jazz dance characterized by a shaking of the body from the shoulders down
  3. an abnormal vibration esp. in the front wheels of a motor vehicle

shimmy -vi

  1. to shake, quiver, or tremble in or as if in dancing a shimmy
  2. to vibrate abnormally used esp. of automobiles
  3. shinny

shin ['shin] -n

  1. the front part of the vertebrate leg below the knee
  2. shinny
  3. to move forward rapidly on foot
  4. to kick or strike on the shins
  5. to climb by shinnying
  6. the 22d letter of the Hebrew alphabet

Shin ['shin, 'shēn] -n

  1. a major Japanese Buddhist sect that emphasizes salvation by faith in exclusive worship of Amida Buddha

Shi·na ['shē-nə] -n

  1. an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Gilgit in northern Kashmir

shin·bone ['shin-,bōn] -n

  1. tibia

shin·dig ['shin-,dig] -n

  1. a social gathering with dancing
  2. a usu. large or lavish party
  3. shindy

shin·dy ['shin-dē] -n

  1. shindig
  2. fracas, uproar

shine ['shīn] -vb

  1. to emit rays of light
  2. to be bright by reflection of light
  3. to be eminent, conspicuous, or distinguished
    • shine s in math
  4. to perform extremely well
    • when will stocks really shine again? -- Temma Ehrenfeld
  5. to have a bright glowing appearance
    • his face shone with enthusiasm
  6. to be conspicuously evident or clear
  7. to cause to emit light
  8. to throw or direct the light of
  9. to make bright by polishing
    • shined his shoes
  10. brightness caused by the emission of light
  11. brightness caused by the reflection of light : luster
    • the shine of polished silver
  12. brilliance, splendor
    • still has a shine about her
  13. fair weather : sunshine
    • rain or shine
  14. trick, caper usu. used in pl.
  15. liking, fancy
    • took a shine to him
  16. a polish or gloss given to shoes
  17. a single polishing of a pair of shoes

shin·er ['shī-nər] -n

  1. one that shines
  2. a silvery fish
  3. any of numerous small freshwater American cyprinid fishes (esp. genus Notropis)
  4. black eye

shin·gle ['shiŋ-gəl] -n

  1. a small thin piece of building material often with one end thicker than the other for laying in overlapping rows as a covering for the roof or sides of a building
  2. a small signboard esp. designating a professional office used chiefly in the phrase hang out one's shingle
  3. a woman's haircut with the hair trimmed short from the back of the head to the nape

shingle [-g(ə-)liŋ] -vt, n

  1. to cover with or as if with shingles
  2. to bob and shape (the hair) in a shingle
  3. to lay out or arrange so as to overlap
  4. coarse rounded detritus or alluvial material esp. on the seashore that differs from ordinary gravel only in the larger size of the stones
  5. a place strewn with shingle

shin·gles ['shiŋ-gəlz] -n pl but sing in constr

  1. an acute viral inflammation of the sensory ganglia of spinal and cranial nerves that is associated with a vesicular eruption and neuralgic pains and is caused by reactivation of the herpesvirus causing chicken pox called also herpes zoster zoster

Shin·gon ['shin-,gän, 'shēn-] -n

  1. an esoteric Japanese Buddhist sect claiming the achievement of Buddhahood in this life through prescribed rituals

shining -adj

  1. emitting or reflecting light
  2. bright and often splendid in appearance : resplendent
  3. possessing a distinguished quality : illustrious
  4. full of sunshine

shin·leaf ['shin-,lēf] -n

  1. any of several wintergreens (esp. Pyrola elliptica) with lustrous evergreen basal leaves and racemose white or pinkish flowers

shin·nery ['shi-nə-rē] -n

  1. a dense growth of small trees or an area of such growth
  2. one of scrub oak in the West and Southwest

shin·ny ['shi-nē] -n

  1. a variation of hockey played by children with a curved stick and a ball or block of wood
  2. the stick used

shinny -vi

  1. to move oneself up or down something vertical (as a pole) esp. by alternately hugging it with the arms or hands and the legs

shin·plas·ter ['shin-,plas-tər] -n

  1. a piece of privately issued paper currency
  2. one poorly secured and depreciated in value
  3. a piece of fractional currency

shin splints -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. injury to and inflammation of the tibial and toe extensor muscles or their fasciae caused by repeated minimal traumas (as by running)

Shin·to ['shin-(,)tō] -n, adj, n or adj

  1. the indigenous religion of Japan consisting chiefly in the cultic devotion to deities of natural forces and veneration of the Emperor as a descendant of the sun goddess

shiny ['shī-nē] -adj, n

  1. having a smooth glossy surface
    • shiny new shoes
  2. bright with the rays of the sun : sunshiny
  3. filled with light
  4. rubbed or worn smooth
  5. lustrous with natural secretions
    • a shiny nose

ship ['ship] -n

  1. a large seagoing vessel
  2. a sailing vessel having a bowsprit and usu. three masts each composed of a lower mast, a topmast, and a topgallant mast
  3. boat
  4. one propelled by power or sail
  5. a ship's crew
  6. fortune
    • when their ship comes in they'll be able to live in better style
  7. airship, airplane, spacecraft
  8. to place or receive on board a ship for transportation by water
  9. to cause to be transported
    • shipped him off to prep school
  10. to provide with a ship
  11. to put in place for use
    • ship the tiller
  12. to take into a ship or boat
    • ship the gangplank
  13. to engage for service on a ship
  14. to take (as water) over the side used of a boat or a ship
  15. to embark on a ship
  16. to go or travel by ship often used with out
  17. to proceed by ship or other means under military orders often used with out
  18. to engage to serve on shipboard
  19. to be sent for delivery
    • the order will ship soon

ship biscuit -n

  1. hardtack called also ship bread

ship·board ['ship-,bȯrd] -n

  1. the side of a ship
  2. ship
    • met on shipboard

shipboard -adj

  1. existing or taking place on board a ship

ship·borne ['ship-,bȯrn] -adj

  1. transported or designed to be transported by ship
    • shipborne aircraft

ship·build·er ['ship-,bil-dər] -n

  1. one who designs or constructs ships

ship·fit·ter ['ship-,fi-tər] -n

  1. one that fits together the structural members of ships and puts them into position for riveting or welding
  2. a naval enlisted man who works in sheet metal and performs the work of a plumber aboard ship

ship·lap [-,lap] -n

  1. wooden sheathing in which the boards are rabbeted so that the edges of each board lap over the edges of adjacent boards to make a flush joint

ship·load [-'lōd, -,lōd] -n

  1. as much or as many as will fill or load a ship
  2. an indefinitely large amount or number

ship·man [-mən] -n

  1. sailor, seaman
  2. shipmaster

ship·mas·ter [-,mas-tər] -n

  1. the master or commander of a ship other than a warship

ship·mate [-,māt] -n

  1. a fellow sailor

ship·ment [-mənt] -n

  1. the act or process of shipping
  2. the goods shipped

ship of state

  1. the affairs of a state symbolized as a ship on a course

ship of the line

  1. a large warship
  2. a square-rigged warship having at least two gun decks and designed to be positioned for battle in a line with other such ships

ship·own·er ['ship-,ō-nər] -n

  1. the owner of a ship

ship·per ['shi-pər] -n

  1. one that sends goods by any form of conveyance

shipping -n

  1. passage on a ship
  2. ships
  3. the body of ships in one place or belonging to one port or country
  4. the act or business of one that ships

shipping clerk -n

  1. one who is employed in a shipping room to assemble, pack, and send out or receive goods

ship·shape [,ship-'shāp, 'ship-,] -adj

  1. trim, tidy

ship·side ['ship-,sīd] -n

  1. the area adjacent to a ship
  2. a dock at which a ship loads or unloads passengers and freight

ship's papers -n pl

  1. the papers a ship is legally required to carry for due inspection to show the character of the ship and cargo

ship·way ['ship-,wā] -n

  1. the ways on which a ship is built

ship·worm [-,wərm] -n

  1. any of various marine clams (esp. family Teredinidae) that have a shell used for burrowing in submerged wood and a wormlike body and that cause damage to wharf piles and wooden ships

ship·wreck [-,rek] -n

  1. a wrecked ship or its parts
  2. the destruction or loss of a ship
  3. an irretrievable loss or failure

shipwreck -vt

  1. to cause to experience shipwreck
  2. ruin
  3. to destroy (a ship) by grounding or foundering

ship·wright ['ship-,rīt] -n

  1. a carpenter skilled in ship construction and repair

ship·yard [-,yärd] -n

  1. a yard, place, or enclosure where ships are built or repaired

Shi·raz [shi-'räz] -n

  1. syrah

shire ['shī(-ə)r, in place-name compounds ,shir, shər] -n

  1. an administrative subdivision
  2. a county in England
  3. any of an old breed of large heavy draft horses of British origin having heavily feathered legs

shire town -n

  1. a town that is the seat of the government of a shire
  2. a town where a court of superior jurisdiction (as a circuit court or a court with a jury) sits

shirk ['shərk] -vb, n

  1. to go stealthily : sneak
  2. to evade the performance of an obligation
  3. avoid, evade
    • shirk one's duty

Shir·ley poppy ['shər-lē-] -n

  1. a cultivated corn poppy with brightly colored usu. white, pink, or red single or double flowers

shirr ['shər] -vt

  1. to draw (as cloth) together in a shirring
  2. to bake (eggs removed from the shell) until set

shirr·ing ['shər-iŋ] -n

  1. a decorative gathering (as of cloth) made by drawing up the material along two or more parallel lines of stitching

shirt ['shərt] -n, adj

  1. : a garment for the upper part of the body: as
  2. a cloth garment usu. having a collar, sleeves, a front opening, and a tail long enough to be tucked inside trousers or a skirt
  3. undershirt
  4. all or a large part of one's money or resources
    • lost his shirt on that business deal

shirt·dress [-,dres] -n

  1. a tailored dress patterned after a shirt and having buttons down the front

shirt·front [-,frənt] -n

  1. the front of a shirt
  2. the part of a man's shirt not covered by coat or vest

shirt·ing ['shər-tiŋ] -n

  1. fabric suitable for shirts

shirt jacket -n

  1. a jacket designed in the style of a shirt called also shirt-jac

shirt·mak·er ['shərt-,mā-kər] -n

  1. one that makes shirts

shirt·sleeve [-,slēv] -n

  1. the sleeve of a shirt

shirtsleeve [-,slēvz] -adj

  1. being without a coat
    • a shirtsleeve spectator
  2. calling for the removal of coats for the sake of comfort or efficiency
    • shirtsleeve weather
  3. marked by informality and directness
    • shirtsleeve diplomacy

shirt·tail ['shərt-,tāl] -n

  1. the part of a shirt that reaches below the waist esp. in the back
  2. something small or inadequate

shirttail -adj

  1. very young : immature
    • shirttail boys fishing in the creek
  2. distantly and indefinitely related
    • a shirttail cousin on her father's side
  3. small, trivial, or short typically to the point of inadequacy
    • has a gullied shirttail ranch in the hills

shirt·waist ['shərt-,wāst] -n

  1. a woman's tailored garment (as a blouse or dress) with details copied from men's shirts

shirty ['shər-tē] -adj

  1. angry, irritated

shish ke·bab ['shish-kə-,bäb] -n

  1. kebab cooked on skewers

shit ['shit, interjectionally also 'shē-ət] -n, adj

  1. feces
  2. an act of defecation
  3. nonsense, crap
  4. any of several intoxicating or narcotic drugs
  5. heroin
  6. damn
  7. a worthless, offensive, or detestable person
  8. used as an interjection
  9. used as an intensive usu. with the
  10. defecate
  11. to defecate in
  12. to attempt to deceive : bullshit

shitake [shē-'tä-kē] -n

(variant of shiitake)

  1. a dark Asian mushroom ( Lentinus edodesof the family Agaricaceae) widely cultivated esp. on woods of the beech family for its edible flavorful tan to brown cap

shit·less ['shit-ləs] -adv

  1. to an extreme degree used as an intensive esp. with scare

shit·load ['shit-,lōd] -n

  1. a very large amount : lot

shit·tah ['shi-tə] -n

  1. a tree of uncertain identity but prob. an acacia (as Acacia seyal) from the wood of which the ark and fittings of the Hebrew tabernacle were made

shit·tim·wood ['shi-təm-,wu̇d] -n

  1. the wood of the shittah tree
  2. any of several trees (genus Bumelia,esp. B. lanuginosa) of the sapodilla family of the southern U.S.
  3. their hard heavy dense wood

shiv ['shiv] -n

  1. knife

Shi·va ['shi-və, 'shē-] -n

  1. the god of destruction and regeneration in the Hindu sacred triad

shi·vah ['shi-və] -n

  1. a traditional seven-day period of mourning the dead that is observed in Jewish homes often used in the phrase sit shivah

shiv·a·ree [,shi-və-'rē, 'shi-və-,] -n, vt

  1. a noisy mock serenade to a newly married couple

shiv·er ['shi-vər] -n

  1. one of the small pieces into which a brittle thing is broken by sudden violence

shiver ['shi-və-riŋ, 'shiv-riŋ] -vb

  1. to break into many small pieces : shatter
  2. to undergo trembling : quiver
  3. to tremble in the wind as it strikes first one and then the other side (of a sail)
  4. to cause (a sail) to shiver by steering close to the wind
  5. an instance of shivering : tremble
  6. an intense shivery sensation esp. of fear often used in pl. with the
    • horror movies give him the shiver s
  7. a hard blow (as with a forearm) esp. to the head or neck

shiv·ery ['shi-və-rē, 'shiv-rē] -adj

  1. easily broken into shivers

shivery -adj

  1. characterized by shivers
  2. causing shivers

shlemiel [shlə-'mēl] -n

(variant of schlemiel)

  1. an unlucky bungler : chump

shlep ['shlep] -vb

(variant of schlep)

  1. drag, haul
  2. to proceed or move esp. slowly, tediously, awkwardly, or carelessly

shlock ['shläk] -adj, n

(variant of schlock)

  1. of low quality or value

shlub ['shləb] -n

(variant of schlub)

  1. a stupid, worthless, or unattractive person

Sho·ah ['shō-ə, -,ä] -n

  1. holocaust

shoal ['shōl] -adj

  1. shallow
  2. shallow
  3. a sandbank or sandbar that makes the water shallow
  4. to become shallow
  5. to come to a shallow or less deep part of
  6. to cause to become shallow or less deep
  7. a large group or number : crowd
    • a shoal of fish
  8. throng, school

shoat ['shōt] -n

  1. a young hog and esp. one that has been weaned

shock ['shäk] -n

  1. a pile of sheaves of grain or stalks of Indian corn set up in a field with the butt ends down
  2. to collect into shocks
  3. the impact or encounter of individuals or groups in combat
  4. a violent shake or jar : concussion
  5. an effect of such violence
  6. a disturbance in the equilibrium or permanence of something
  7. a sudden or violent mental or emotional disturbance
  8. something that causes such disturbance
    • the loss came as a shock
  9. a state of being so disturbed
    • were in shock after they heard the news
  10. a state of profound depression of the vital processes associated with reduced blood volume and pressure and caused usu. by severe esp. crushing injuries, hemorrhage, or burns
  11. sudden stimulation of the nerves and convulsive contraction of the muscles caused by the discharge of electricity through the animal body
  12. stroke
  13. coronary thrombosis
  14. shock absorber
  15. to strike with surprise, terror, horror, or disgust
  16. to cause to undergo a physical or nervous shock
  17. to subject to the action of an electrical discharge
  18. to drive by or as if by a shock
  19. to meet with a shock : collide
  20. to cause surprise or shock
    • an exhibit meant to shock
  21. bushy, shaggy
  22. a thick bushy mass (as of hair)

shock absorber -n

  1. any of several devices for absorbing the energy of sudden impulses or shocks in machinery or structures

shock·er ['shä-kər] -n

  1. one that shocks
  2. something horrifying or offensive (as a sensational film or work of fiction)

shock front -n

  1. the advancing edge of a shock wave

shock·ing ['shä-kiŋ] -adj, adv

  1. extremely startling, distressing, or offensive
    • shocking news

shocking pink -n

  1. a striking, vivid, bright, or intense pink

shock jock -n

  1. a radio personality noted for provocative or inflammatory commentary

shock·proof ['shäk-,prüf] -adj

  1. incapable of being shocked
  2. resistant to damage by shock
  3. unlikely to cause shock : protectively insulated
    • a shockproof switch

shock therapy -n

  1. the treatment of mental disorder by the artificial induction of coma or convulsions through use of drugs or electric current called also shock treatment

shock troops -n pl

  1. troops esp. suited and chosen for offensive work because of their high morale, training, and discipline
  2. a group of people militant in pressing for a cause

shock tube -n

  1. a usu. enclosed tube in which experimental shock waves are produced as a result of the rupturing of a diaphragm separating two chambers containing a gas or gases at differential pressure

shock wave -n

  1. a compressional wave of high amplitude caused by a shock (as from an earthquake or explosion) to the medium through which the wave travels
  2. a violent often pulsating disturbance or reaction
    • shock waves of rebellion

shod ['shäd] -adj

  1. wearing footgear (as shoes)
  2. equipped with tires
  3. furnished or equipped with a shoe

shod·dy ['shä-dē] -n

  1. a reclaimed wool from materials that are not felted that is of better quality and longer staple than mungo
  2. a fabric often of inferior quality manufactured wholly or partly from reclaimed wool
  3. inferior, imitative, or pretentious articles or matter
  4. pretentious vulgarity

shoddy ['shä-də-lē] -adj, adv, n

  1. made wholly or partly of shoddy
  2. cheaply imitative : vulgarly pretentious
    • shoddy merchandise
  3. hastily or poorly done : inferior
    • shoddy workmanship
  4. shabby, disreputable
    • shoddy business deals

shoe ['shü] -n, adj

  1. an outer covering for the human foot typically having a thick or stiff sole with an attached heel and an upper part of lighter material (as leather)
  2. a metal plate or rim for the hoof of an animal
  3. something resembling a shoe in function or placement
  4. another's place, function, or viewpoint
    • steps from assistant stage manager into the star's shoe s -- Steven Fuller
  5. a device that retards, stops, or controls the motion of an object
  6. the part of a brake that presses on the brake drum
  7. any of various devices that are inserted in or run along a track or groove to guide a movement, provide a contact or friction grip, or protect against wear, damage, or slipping
  8. a device (as a clip or track) on a camera that permits attachment of an accessory item (as a flash unit)
  9. a dealing box designed to hold several decks of playing cards
  10. to furnish with a shoe
  11. to cover for protection, strength, or ornament

shoe·bill ['shü-,bil] -n

  1. a large gray wading bird ( Balaeniceps rex) related to the storks and herons that inhabits wetlands of eastern Africa and has a thick broad bill

shoe·black [-,blak] -n

  1. bootblack

shoe·horn [-,hȯrn] -n

  1. a curved piece (as of horn, wood, or metal) used in putting on a shoe

shoehorn -vt

  1. to force to be included or admitted
    • shoehorn ed irrelevant arguments into his essay
  2. to force or compress into an insufficient space or period of time : squeeze
    • shoehorn the past, present, and future into about 500 pages -- Otis Port

shoe·lace ['shü-,lās] -n

  1. a lace or string for fastening a shoe

shoeleath·er ['shü-,le-thər] -adj

  1. involving or using basic, direct, or old-fashioned methods
    • shoeleather journalism

shoe·mak·er [-,mā-kər] -n

  1. a person whose occupation is making or repairing shoes

shoe·pac ['shü-,pak] -n

  1. a waterproof laced boot worn esp. over heavy socks in cold weather

shoe·string ['shü-,striŋ] -n

  1. shoelace
  2. a small sum of money : capital inadequate or barely adequate to the needs of a transaction
    • started the business on a shoestring

shoestring -adj

  1. narrow and long like a shoestring
    • shoestring french fries
  2. operating on, accomplished by, or consisting of a small amount of money or capital
    • a shoestring budget

shoestring catch -n

  1. a catch (as in baseball) made very close to the feet

shoe tree -n

  1. a foot-shaped device for inserting in a shoe to preserve its shape

sho·far ['shō-,fär, -fər] -n

  1. a ram's-horn trumpet blown by the ancient Hebrews in battle and during religious observances and used in modern Judaism esp. during Rosh Hashanah and at the end of Yom Kippur

shog ['shäg] -vb

  1. jolt, shake
  2. to move in a jerky manner
  3. to move along
  4. shake, jolt

sho·gun ['shō-gən] -n, adj

  1. one of a line of military governors ruling Japan until the revolution of 186768

sho·ji ['shō-(,)jē] -n

  1. a paper screen serving as a wall, partition, or sliding door

sho·jo ['shō-(,)jō] -n

  1. manga intended primarily for girls

sholom [shä-'lōm, shə-] -interj

(variant of shalom)

  1. used as a Jewish greeting and farewell

Sho·na ['shō-nə] -n

  1. a member of any of a group of Bantu peoples of Zimbabwe and southern Mozambique
  2. the group of languages spoken by the Shona

shone ['shīn] -vb

(variant of shine)

  1. to emit rays of light
  2. to be bright by reflection of light
  3. to be eminent, conspicuous, or distinguished
    • shine s in math
  4. to perform extremely well
    • when will stocks really shine again? -- Temma Ehrenfeld
  5. to have a bright glowing appearance
    • his face shone with enthusiasm
  6. to be conspicuously evident or clear
  7. to cause to emit light
  8. to throw or direct the light of
  9. to make bright by polishing
    • shined his shoes
  10. brightness caused by the emission of light
  11. brightness caused by the reflection of light : luster
    • the shine of polished silver
  12. brilliance, splendor
    • still has a shine about her
  13. fair weather : sunshine
    • rain or shine
  14. trick, caper usu. used in pl.
  15. liking, fancy
    • took a shine to him
  16. a polish or gloss given to shoes
  17. a single polishing of a pair of shoes

shoo ['shü] -interj

  1. used esp. in driving away an unwanted animal
  2. to scare, drive, or send away by or as if by crying shoo
    • shoo ed us away from the kitchen

shoo·fly ['shü-,flī] -n

  1. a child's rocker having the seat built on or usu. between supports representing an animal figure
  2. any of several plants held to repel flies

shoofly pie -n

  1. a rich pie of Pennsylvania Dutch origin made of molasses or brown sugar sprinkled with a crumbly mixture of flour, sugar, and butter

shooin ['shü-,in] -n

  1. one that is a certain and easy winner

shook ['shāk] -vb, adj

(variant of shake)

  1. to move irregularly to and fro
  2. to vibrate esp. as the result of a blow or shock
  3. to tremble as a result of physical or emotional disturbance
    • shook with fear
  4. to experience a state of instability : totter
  5. to briskly move something to and fro or up and down esp. in order to mix
  6. to clasp hands
  7. trill
  8. to brandish, wave, or flourish often in a threatening manner
    • protesters shaking their fists
  9. to cause to move to and fro, up and down, or from side to side esp. in a repetitive, rhythmic, or quick jerky manner
    • shook his head in disapproval
  10. to cause to quake, quiver, or tremble
  11. to free oneself from
    • shake a habit
    • shake off a cold
  12. to get away from : get rid of
    • can you shake your friend? I want to talk to you alone -- Elmer Davis
  13. to lessen the stability of : weaken
    • shake one's faith
  14. to bring to a specified condition by or as if by repeated quick jerky movements
    • shook himself loose from the man's grasp
  15. to dislodge or eject by quick jerky movements of the support or container
    • shook the dust from the cloth
  16. to clasp (hands) in greeting or farewell or as a sign of goodwill or agreement
  17. to stir the feelings of : upset, agitate
    • shook her up
  18. trill
  19. : an act of shaking: as
  20. an act of shaking hands
  21. an act of shaking oneself
  22. a blow or shock that upsets the equilibrium or disturbs the balance of something
  23. earthquake
  24. a condition of trembling or nervousness
  25. delirium tremens
  26. malaria
  27. : something produced by shaking: as
  28. a fissure separating annual rings of growth in timber
  29. milk shake
  30. a beverage resembling a milk shake but made without milk
  31. a wavering, quivering, or alternating motion caused by a blow or shock
  32. trill
  33. a very brief period of time
    • I'll be there in two shake s
  34. one that is exceptional esp. in importance, ability, or merit usu. used in the phrase no great shakes
  35. a shingle split from a piece of log usu. three or four feet (about one meter) long
  36. deal
    • a fair shake

shookup [,shu̇k-'əp] -adj

  1. nervously upset : agitated

shoon ['shü] -n, adj

(variant of shoe)

  1. an outer covering for the human foot typically having a thick or stiff sole with an attached heel and an upper part of lighter material (as leather)
  2. a metal plate or rim for the hoof of an animal
  3. something resembling a shoe in function or placement
  4. another's place, function, or viewpoint
    • steps from assistant stage manager into the star's shoe s -- Steven Fuller
  5. a device that retards, stops, or controls the motion of an object
  6. the part of a brake that presses on the brake drum
  7. any of various devices that are inserted in or run along a track or groove to guide a movement, provide a contact or friction grip, or protect against wear, damage, or slipping
  8. a device (as a clip or track) on a camera that permits attachment of an accessory item (as a flash unit)
  9. a dealing box designed to hold several decks of playing cards
  10. to furnish with a shoe
  11. to cover for protection, strength, or ornament

shoot ['shüt] -vb

  1. to eject or impel or cause to be ejected or impelled by a sudden release of tension (as of a bowstring or slingshot or by a flick of a finger)
    • shoot an arrow
    • shoot a spitball
    • shoot a marble
  2. to drive forth or cause to be driven forth by an explosion (as of a powder charge in a firearm or of ignited fuel in a rocket)
  3. to drive forth or cause to be driven forth by a sudden release of gas or air
    • shoot darts from a blowgun
    • a steam catapult shoot s planes from a carrier
  4. to propel (as a ball or puck) toward a goal by striking or pushing with part of the body (as the hand or foot) or with an implement
  5. to score by so doing
    • shoot the winning goal
    • shoot a basket
  6. to throw or cast off or out often with force
    • shoot dice
    • the horse shot his rider out of the saddle
  7. to cause (as a gun or bow) to propel a missile
  8. to utter (as words or sounds) rapidly or suddenly or with force
    • shoot out a stream of invective
  9. to emit (as light, flame, or fumes) suddenly and rapidly
  10. to send forth with suddenness or intensity
    • shot a look of anger at them
  11. to discharge, dump, or empty esp. by overturning, upending, or directing into a slide
  12. : to affect by shooting: as
  13. to strike with a missile esp. from a bow or gun
  14. to wound or kill with a missile discharged from a bow or firearm
  15. to remove or destroy by use of firearms
    • shot out the light
  16. wreck, explode
  17. to push or slide (as the bolt of a door or lock) into or out of a fastening
  18. to push or thrust forward : stick out
    • toads shoot ing out their tongues
  19. to put forth in growing
  20. to place, send, or bring into position abruptly
  21. to engage in (a sport or game or a portion of a game that involves shooting) : play
    • shoot pool
    • shoot a round of golf
    • shoot craps
  22. to achieve (a particular score) in a game that involves shooting
    • shoot 80 in golf
  23. to place or offer (a bet) on the result of casting dice
    • shoot 5
  24. to use up by or as if by betting : exhaust
    • shot his annual bonus on a shady deal
  25. to engage in the hunting and killing of (as game) with firearms esp. as a sport
    • shoot woodcock
  26. to hunt over
    • shoot a tract of woodland
  27. to cause to move suddenly or swiftly forward
    • shot the car onto the highway
  28. to send or carry quickly : dispatch
    • shoot the letter on to me as soon as you receive it
  29. to variegate as if by sprinkling color in streaks, flecks, or patches
  30. to pass swiftly by, past, or along
    • shoot ing rapids
  31. to plane (as the edge of a board) straight or true
  32. set off, detonate, ignite
    • shoot a charge of dynamite
  33. to effect by blasting
  34. to determine the altitude of
  35. to take a picture or series of pictures or television images of : photograph, film
  36. to give an injection to
  37. to inject (an illicit drug) esp. into the bloodstream
  38. to go or pass rapidly and precipitately
    • sparks shoot ing all over
    • his feet shot out from under him
  39. to move ahead by force of momentum
  40. to stream out suddenly : spurt
  41. to dart in or as if in rays from a source of light
  42. to dart with a piercing sensation
    • pain shot up my arm
  43. to cause an engine or weapon to discharge a missile
  44. to use a firearm or bow esp. for sport (as in hunting)
  45. to propel a missile
    • guns that shoot many miles
  46. protrude, project
  47. to grow or sprout by or as if by putting forth shoots
  48. develop, mature
  49. to spring or rise rapidly or suddenly often used with up
    • in a burst of growth he shot up to six feet tall
    • prices shot up
  50. to propel an object (as a ball) in a particular way
  51. to drive the ball or puck toward a goal
  52. to cast dice
  53. to slide into or out of a fastening
    • a bolt that shoot s in either direction
  54. to record something (as on film or videotape) with a camera
  55. to begin to speak usu. used as an imperative
    • OK, shoot, what do you have to say
  56. : a sending out of new growth or the growth sent out: as
  57. a stem or branch with its leaves and appendages esp. when not yet mature
  58. offshoot
  59. : an act of shooting (as with a bow or a firearm):
  60. shot
  61. the firing of a missile esp. by artillery
  62. a hunting trip or party
  63. the right to shoot game in a particular area or land over which it is held
  64. a shooting match
    • skeet shoot
  65. a round of shots in a shooting match
  66. the action or an instance of shooting with a camera : a session or a series of sessions of photographing or filming
    • a movie shoot
  67. : a motion or movement of rapid thrusting: as
  68. a sudden or rapid advance
  69. a momentary darting sensation : twinge
  70. thrust
  71. the pace between strokes in rowing
  72. a bar of rays : beam
    • a shoot of sunlight
  73. a rush of water down a steep or rapid
  74. a place where a stream runs or descends swiftly
  75. used to express annoyance or surprise

shoot·around ['shüt-ə-,rau̇nd] -n

  1. a usu. informal basketball practice session

shoot down -vt

  1. to cause to fall by shooting
    • shot down the helicopter
  2. to kill in this way
    • was shot down in cold blood
  3. to put an end to : defeat, reject
    • shoot down legislation
  4. deflate, ridicule
  5. discredit
    • shoot down a theory

shoot'emup ['shüt-əm-,əp] -n

  1. a movie, television show, or computer game with much shooting and bloodshed

shoot·er ['shü-tər] -n

  1. : one that shoots: as
  2. a person who fires a missile-discharging device (as a rifle or bow)
  3. the person who is shooting or whose turn it is to shoot
  4. photographer
  5. : something that is used in shooting: as
  6. a marble shot from the hand
  7. revolver usu. used in combination
    • six- shooter
  8. a shot of hard liquor (as whiskey or tequila) often diluted with something (as soda)
  9. a bit of food (as a raw oyster) served in a shot glass

shooting gallery -n

  1. a usu. covered range equipped with targets for practice with firearms
  2. a place where one can obtain narcotics and shoot up

shooting guard -n

  1. a guard in basketball whose chief role is as an outside shooter

shooting iron -n

  1. firearm
  2. handgun

shooting script -n

  1. the final completely detailed version of a motion-picture script in which scenes are grouped in the order most convenient for shooting
  2. the final version of a television script used in the production of a program

shooting star -n

  1. a visual meteor appearing as a temporary streak of light in the night sky
  2. any of several No. American perennial herbs (genus Dodecatheon,esp. D. meadia) of the primrose family that have entire oblong leaves and showy flowers with reflexed petals
  3. one resembling a shooting star esp. in sudden and temporary brilliance

shooting stick -n

  1. a spiked stick with a top that opens into a seat

shootout ['shüt-,au̇t] -n

  1. a battle fought with handguns or rifles
  2. something resembling a shoot-out
  3. showdown
  4. a shooting competition in overtime that is used to determine the winner of a game (as in soccer or hockey) tied at the end of regular play

shootthechutes [,shüt-thə-'shüts] -n pl but sing in constr

  1. an amusement ride consisting of a steep incline down which boats slide into a pool at the bottom

shoot up ['shüt-,əp] -vt, n

  1. to shoot or shoot at esp. recklessly
    • cowboys shooting up the town
  2. to inject (a narcotic drug) into a vein
  3. to inject a narcotic into a vein

shop ['shäp] -n

  1. a handicraft establishment : atelier
  2. a building or room stocked with merchandise for sale : store
  3. a small retail establishment or a department in a large one offering a specified line of goods or services
    • a millinery shop
    • a sandwich shop
  4. a commercial establishment for the making or repair of goods or machinery
    • machine shop
    • repair shop
  5. a school laboratory equipped for industrial arts education
  6. the art or science of working with tools and machinery
  7. a business establishment : office
    • a public relations shop
  8. shoptalk
    • talking shop
  9. to examine goods or services with intent to buy
  10. to hunt through a market in search of the best buy
  11. to make a search : hunt
    • shopping around for a better idea
  12. to inform on : betray
  13. to examine the stock or offerings of
    • shop the stores for Christmas gift ideas
  14. to offer for consideration or acceptance
  15. to offer for sale or in a trade often used with around
    • shopping the manuscript around

shop·a·hol·ic [,shä-pə-'hȯ-lik, -'hä-] -n

  1. one who is extremely or excessively fond of shopping

shop·girl ['shäp-,gər(-ə)l] -n

  1. a woman employed to sell merchandise esp. in a store

shop·keep·er ['shäp-,kē-pər] -n

  1. storekeeper

shop·lift [-,lift] -vb

  1. to steal displayed goods from a store
  2. to steal (displayed goods) from a store

shop·lift·er [-,lif-tər] -n

  1. one who shoplifts

shop·per ['shä-pər] -n

  1. one who shops
  2. one whose occupation is shopping as an agent for customers or for an employer
  3. a usu. free paper carrying advertising and sometimes local news

shopping bag -n

  1. a bag (as of strong paper) that has handles and is intended for carrying purchases

shopping center -n

  1. a group of retail stores and service establishments usu. with ample parking facilities and usu. designed to serve a community or neighborhood called also shopping plaza

shopping list -n

  1. a list of items to be purchased
  2. a list of related items
    • the biggest possible shopping list of budget cuts -- Leonard Silk

shopping mall -n

  1. mall

shopsoiled ['shäp-,sȯi(-ə)ld] -adj

  1. shopworn

shop steward -n

  1. a union member elected as the union representative of a shop or department in dealings with the management

shop·talk ['shäp-,tȯk] -n

  1. the jargon or subject matter peculiar to an occupation or a special area of interest

shop·win·dow [-,win-(,)dō] -n

  1. a display window of a store

shop·worn [-,wȯrn] -adj

  1. faded, soiled, or otherwise impaired by remaining too long in a store
  2. stale from excessive use or familiarity
    • shopworn cliches
  3. worn-out
    • a shopworn veteran

shore ['shȯr] -n

  1. the land bordering a usu. large body of water
  2. coast
  3. a boundary (as of a country) or an area within a boundary usu. used in pl.
    • immigrated to these shore s
  4. land as distinguished from the sea
    • shipboard and shore duty
  5. a prop for preventing sinking or sagging
  6. to support by a shore : prop
  7. to give support to : brace usu. used with up
    • trying to shore up his claim

shore·bird ['shȯr-,bərd] -n

  1. any of a suborder (Charadrii) of birds (as a plover or sandpiper) that frequent the seashore

shore dinner -n

  1. a dinner consisting chiefly of seafoods

shore·front [-,frənt] -n

  1. land along a shore
  2. beachfront

shore leave -n

  1. a leave of absence to go on shore granted to a sailor or naval officer

shore·line [-,līn] -n

  1. the line where a body of water and the shore meet
  2. the strip of land along the shoreline

shore patrol -n

  1. a branch of a navy that exercises guard and police functions
  2. petty officers detailed to perform police duty while a ship is in port

shore·side [-,sīd] -adj

  1. situated at or near a shore

shore·ward [-wərd] -adv

  1. toward the shore

shoring -n

  1. the act of supporting with or as if with a prop
  2. a system or group of shores

shorn ['shir] -vb, n

(variant of shear)

  1. to cut off the hair from
  2. to cut or clip (as hair or wool) from someone or something
  3. to cut something from
    • shear a lawn
  4. to reap with a sickle
  5. to cut or trim with shears or a similar instrument
  6. to cut with something sharp
  7. to deprive of something as if by cutting
    • lives shorn of any hope -- M. W. Browne
  8. to subject to a shear force
  9. to cause (as a rock mass) to move along the plane of contact
  10. to cut through something with or as if with a sharp instrument
  11. to reap crops with a sickle
  12. to become divided under the action of a shear
  13. a cutting implement similar or identical to a pair of scissors but typically larger usu. used in pl.
  14. one blade of a pair of shears
  15. any of various cutting tools or machines operating by the action of opposed cutting edges of metal usu. used in pl.
  16. something resembling a shear or a pair of shears
  17. a hoisting apparatus consisting of two or sometimes more upright spars fastened together at their upper ends and having tackle for masting or dismasting ships or lifting heavy loads (as guns) usu. used in pl. but sing. or pl. in constr.
  18. the action or process or an instance of shearing used in combination to indicate the approximate age of sheep in terms of shearings undergone
  19. internal force tangential to the section on which it acts called also shearing force
  20. an action or stress resulting from applied forces that causes or tends to cause two contiguous parts of a body to slide relatively to each other in a direction parallel to their plane of contact

short ['shȯrt] -adj, n

  1. having little length
  2. not tall or high : low
  3. not extended in time : brief
    • a short vacation
  4. not retentive
    • a short memory
  5. expeditious, quick
    • made short work of the problem
  6. seeming to pass quickly
    • made great progress in just a few short years
  7. having a relatively short duration
  8. being the member of a pair of similarly spelled vowel or vowel-containing sounds that is descended from a vowel that was short in duration but is no longer so and that does not necessarily have duration as its chief distinguishing feature
    • short i in sin
  9. of relatively brief duration
  10. unstressed
  11. limited in distance
    • a short trip
  12. not coming up to a measure or requirement : insufficient
    • in short supply
  13. not reaching far enough
    • the throw to first was short
  14. enduring privation
  15. insufficiently supplied
    • short of cash
    • short on brains
  16. abrupt, curt
    • I'm sorry I was short with you
  17. quickly provoked
    • a short temper
  18. choppy
  19. payable at an early date
    • a short loan
  20. containing or cooked with shortening
  21. flaky
    • short pastry
  22. brittle under certain conditions
  23. not lengthy or drawn out
    • a short speech
  24. made briefer : abbreviated
  25. not having goods or property that one has sold in anticipation of a fall in prices
  26. consisting of, relating to, or engaging in the sale of securities or commodities that the seller does not possess or has not contracted for at the time of the sale
    • short sale
    • a short seller
  27. near the end of a tour of duty
  28. in a curt manner
  29. for or during a brief time
    • short- lasting
  30. at a disadvantage : unawares
    • caught short
  31. in an abrupt manner : suddenly
    • the car stopped short
  32. at some point or degree before a goal or limit aimed at or under consideration
    • the bombs fell short
    • quit a month short of graduation
  33. clean across
    • the axle was snapped short
  34. by or as if by a short sale
  35. the sum and substance : upshot
  36. a short syllable
  37. a short sound or signal
  38. a by-product of wheat milling that includes the germ, fine bran, and some flour
  39. refuse, clippings, or trimmings discarded in various manufacturing processes
  40. knee-length or less than knee-length trousers usu. used in pl.
  41. short drawers
  42. a size in clothing for short men
  43. one who operates on the short side of the market
  44. short-term bonds
  45. deficiencies
  46. short circuit
  47. shortstop
  48. short subject
  49. a brief story or article (as in a newspaper)
  50. short-circuit
  51. shortchange, cheat
  52. to sell (a security) short in expectation of a fall in prices

short·age ['shȯr-tij] -n

  1. lack, deficit

short ballot -n

  1. a ballot limiting the number of elective offices to the most important legislative and executive posts and leaving minor positions to be filled by appointment

short·bread ['shȯrt-,bred] -n

  1. a thick cookie made of flour, sugar, and a large amount of shortening

short·cake [-,kāk] -n

  1. a crisp and often unsweetened biscuit or cookie
  2. a dessert made typically of very short baking-powder-biscuit dough spread with sweetened fruit
  3. a dish consisting of a rich biscuit split and covered with a meat mixture

short·change [-'chānj] -vt, n

  1. to give less than the correct amount of change to
  2. to deprive of or give less than something due : cheat
    • was shortchanged out of a promotion

shortcir·cuit -vt

  1. to apply a short circuit to or establish a short circuit in
  2. bypass
  3. frustrate, impede

short circuit -n

  1. a connection of comparatively low resistance accidentally or intentionally made between points on a circuit between which the resistance is normally much greater

short·com·ing ['shȯrt-,kə-miŋ, ,shȯrt-'] -n

  1. an imperfection or lack that detracts from the whole
  2. the quality or state of being flawed or lacking

short·cut ['shȯrt-,kət also -'kət] -n

  1. a route more direct than the one ordinarily taken
  2. a method or means of doing something more directly and quickly than and often not so thoroughly as by ordinary procedure
    • a shortcut to success

shortcut -vb

  1. to shorten (as a route or procedure) by use of a shortcut
  2. circumvent
  3. to take or use a shortcut

shortday ['shȯrt-,dā] -adj

  1. responding to or relating to a short photoperiod used esp. of a plant

short division -n

  1. mathematical division in which the successive steps are performed without writing out the remainders

shorteared owl ['shȯrt-,ird-] -n

  1. a medium-sized nearly cosmopolitan owl ( Asio flammeus) that has very short ear tufts and usu. nests on the ground

short·en ['shȯr-tᵊn] -vb, n

  1. to reduce the length or duration of
  2. to cause to seem short
  3. to reduce in power or efficiency
    • is my hand shorten ed, that it cannot redeem -- Isa 50:2(RSV)
  4. to deprive of effect
  5. to add fat to (as pastry dough) in order to make tender and flaky
  6. to become short or shorter

shortening -n

  1. the action or process of making or becoming short
  2. the dropping of the latter part of a word so as to produce a new and shorter word of the same meaning
  3. an edible fat used to shorten baked goods

short·fall ['shȯrt-,fȯl] -n

  1. a failure to come up to expectation or need
    • a budget shortfall
  2. the amount of such failure
    • a $2 million shortfall

short fuse -n

  1. a tendency to get angry easily : a quick temper

shortgrass prairie ['shȯrt-,gras-] -n

  1. prairie

short·hair [-,her] -n, adj

  1. a domestic cat with a short thick coat
  2. a member of any of several breeds of muscular medium- to large-sized cats with a short plushy coat

short·hand [-,hand] -n, adj

  1. a method of writing rapidly by substituting characters, abbreviations, or symbols for letters, sounds, words, or phrases : stenography
  2. something likened to shorthand esp. in providing rapid or abbreviated communication or representation
    • stereotype and cliche serve a purpose as a form of shorthand -- Stephanie Ericsson
    • headline shorthand

short·hand·ed [,shȯrt-'han-dəd] -adj

  1. having, working with, or done with fewer than the regular or necessary number of people

shorthaul ['shȯrt-,hȯl] -adj

  1. traveling or involving a short distance
    • shorthaul flights

short·horn [-,hȯrn] -n

  1. any of a breed of red, roan, white, or red and white beef cattle originating in northern England and including good milk-producing strains called also Durham

shorthorned grasshopper ['shȯrt-,hȯrn(d)-] -n

  1. any of a family (Acrididae) of grasshoppers with short antennae

short hundredweight -n

  1. hundredweight

short·leaf pine ['shȯrt-,lēf-] -n

  1. a pine ( Pinus echinata) chiefly of the southeastern U.S. that has short flexible needles usu. in clusters of two and reddish-brown bark
  2. its yellow wood

short line -n

  1. a transportation system (as a railroad) operating over a relatively short distance

short list -n, vt

  1. a limited list of important items or individuals
  2. a list of candidates for final consideration (as for a position or a prize)

shortlived ['shȯrt-'livd also -'līvd] -adj

  1. not living or lasting long
    • shortlived insects
    • shortlived joy

short loin -n

  1. a portion of the hindquarter of beef immediately behind the ribs that is usu. cut into steaks

short·ly ['shȯrt-lē] -adv

  1. in a few words : briefly
  2. in an abrupt manner
  3. in a short time
    • we will be there shortly
  4. at a short interval
    • shortly after sunset

shortnosed cattle louse ['shȯrt-,nōz(d)-] -n

  1. a large bluish sucking louse ( Haematopinus eurysternus) that attacks domestic cattle

short of -prep

  1. other than
  2. of a lesser degree than
    • had few options short of replacing the motor

shortorder ['shȯrt-,ȯr-dər, -'ȯr-] -adj

  1. preparing or serving food that can be cooked quickly to a customer's order
    • a shortorder cook

shortrange ['shȯrt-'rānj] -adj

  1. involving or taking into account a short period of time
    • shortrange plans
  2. relating to or fit for short distances

short ribs -n pl

  1. a cut of beef consisting of rib ends between the rib roast and the plate

short run -n, adj

  1. a relatively brief period of time often used in the phrase in the short run

short shrift -n

  1. barely adequate time for confession before execution
  2. little or no attention or consideration
    • gave the problem short shrift
  3. quick work usu. used in the phrase make short shrift of

short sight -n

  1. myopia

short·sight·ed ['shȯrt-,sī-təd] -adj, adv, n

  1. lacking foresight
  2. nearsighted

shortspo·ken [-,spō-kən] -adj

  1. curt

short·stop [-,stäp] -n

  1. the player position in baseball for defending the infield area on the third-base side of second base
  2. the player stationed in the shortstop position

shortstop [-,stäp] -n

  1. stop bath

short story -n

  1. an invented prose narrative shorter than a novel usu. dealing with a few characters and aiming at unity of effect and often concentrating on the creation of mood rather than plot

short subject -n

  1. a brief often documentary or educational film

shorttem·pered [,shȯrt-'tem-pərd] -adj

  1. having a quick temper

shortterm ['shȯrt-,tərm] -adj

  1. occurring over or involving a relatively short period of time
  2. of, relating to, or constituting a financial operation or obligation based on a brief term and esp. one of less than a year
  3. generated by assets held for less than six months

short·wave ['shȯrt-,wāv] -n

  1. a radio wave having a wavelength between 10 and 100 meters
  2. a radio transmitter or receiver using shortwaves
  3. electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength equal to or less than that of visible light

shortweight ['shȯrt-'wāt] -vt

  1. to defraud with short weight

short weight ['shȯrt-'wāt] -n

  1. weight less than the stated weight or less than one is charged for

shortwind·ed [,shȯrt-'win-dəd] -adj

  1. affected with or characterized by shortness of breath
  2. brief
  3. broken up into short units

shorty ['shȯr-tē] -n

  1. one that is short

Sho·shone [shə-'shōn, -'shō-nē; 'shō-,shōn] -n

  1. a member of a group of American Indian peoples orig. ranging through California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming
  2. the Uto-Aztecan language of the Shoshones

shot ['shät] -n

  1. an action of shooting
  2. a directed propelling of a missile
  3. a directed discharge of a firearm
  4. a stroke or throw in an attempt to score points in a game (as tennis, pool, or basketball)
  5. home run
  6. ability to shoot
    • has the best shot on the team
  7. blast
  8. a medical or narcotics injection
  9. something propelled by shooting
  10. small lead or steel pellets esp. forming a charge for a shotgun
  11. a metal sphere of iron or brass that is heaved in the shot put
  12. the distance that a missile is or can be thrown
  13. range, reach
  14. a charge to be paid : scot
  15. one that shoots
  16. marksman
  17. attempt, try
    • give it a shot
  18. guess, conjecture
  19. chance
    • a shot at winning the prize
  20. a single appearance as an entertainer
    • did a guest shot for the program
  21. an effective remark
  22. swipe
    • a parting shot
  23. a single photographic exposure
  24. snapshot
  25. a single sequence of a motion picture or a television program shot by one camera without interruption
  26. a charge of explosives
  27. a small measure or serving (as one ounce) of undiluted liquor or other beverage
    • vodka shot s
    • a shot of espresso
  28. a small amount applied at one time : dose
    • a shot of fertilizer
    • a shot of humor
  29. sprinkles, jimmies

shot ['shüt] -vb

(variant of shoot)

  1. to eject or impel or cause to be ejected or impelled by a sudden release of tension (as of a bowstring or slingshot or by a flick of a finger)
    • shoot an arrow
    • shoot a spitball
    • shoot a marble
  2. to drive forth or cause to be driven forth by an explosion (as of a powder charge in a firearm or of ignited fuel in a rocket)
  3. to drive forth or cause to be driven forth by a sudden release of gas or air
    • shoot darts from a blowgun
    • a steam catapult shoot s planes from a carrier
  4. to propel (as a ball or puck) toward a goal by striking or pushing with part of the body (as the hand or foot) or with an implement
  5. to score by so doing
    • shoot the winning goal
    • shoot a basket
  6. to throw or cast off or out often with force
    • shoot dice
    • the horse shot his rider out of the saddle
  7. to cause (as a gun or bow) to propel a missile
  8. to utter (as words or sounds) rapidly or suddenly or with force
    • shoot out a stream of invective
  9. to emit (as light, flame, or fumes) suddenly and rapidly
  10. to send forth with suddenness or intensity
    • shot a look of anger at them
  11. to discharge, dump, or empty esp. by overturning, upending, or directing into a slide
  12. : to affect by shooting: as
  13. to strike with a missile esp. from a bow or gun
  14. to wound or kill with a missile discharged from a bow or firearm
  15. to remove or destroy by use of firearms
    • shot out the light
  16. wreck, explode
  17. to push or slide (as the bolt of a door or lock) into or out of a fastening
  18. to push or thrust forward : stick out
    • toads shoot ing out their tongues
  19. to put forth in growing
  20. to place, send, or bring into position abruptly
  21. to engage in (a sport or game or a portion of a game that involves shooting) : play
    • shoot pool
    • shoot a round of golf
    • shoot craps
  22. to achieve (a particular score) in a game that involves shooting
    • shoot 80 in golf
  23. to place or offer (a bet) on the result of casting dice
    • shoot 5
  24. to use up by or as if by betting : exhaust
    • shot his annual bonus on a shady deal
  25. to engage in the hunting and killing of (as game) with firearms esp. as a sport
    • shoot woodcock
  26. to hunt over
    • shoot a tract of woodland
  27. to cause to move suddenly or swiftly forward
    • shot the car onto the highway
  28. to send or carry quickly : dispatch
    • shoot the letter on to me as soon as you receive it
  29. to variegate as if by sprinkling color in streaks, flecks, or patches
  30. to pass swiftly by, past, or along
    • shoot ing rapids
  31. to plane (as the edge of a board) straight or true
  32. set off, detonate, ignite
    • shoot a charge of dynamite
  33. to effect by blasting
  34. to determine the altitude of
  35. to take a picture or series of pictures or television images of : photograph, film
  36. to give an injection to
  37. to inject (an illicit drug) esp. into the bloodstream
  38. to go or pass rapidly and precipitately
    • sparks shoot ing all over
    • his feet shot out from under him
  39. to move ahead by force of momentum
  40. to stream out suddenly : spurt
  41. to dart in or as if in rays from a source of light
  42. to dart with a piercing sensation
    • pain shot up my arm
  43. to cause an engine or weapon to discharge a missile
  44. to use a firearm or bow esp. for sport (as in hunting)
  45. to propel a missile
    • guns that shoot many miles
  46. protrude, project
  47. to grow or sprout by or as if by putting forth shoots
  48. develop, mature
  49. to spring or rise rapidly or suddenly often used with up
    • in a burst of growth he shot up to six feet tall
    • prices shot up
  50. to propel an object (as a ball) in a particular way
  51. to drive the ball or puck toward a goal
  52. to cast dice
  53. to slide into or out of a fastening
    • a bolt that shoot s in either direction
  54. to record something (as on film or videotape) with a camera
  55. to begin to speak usu. used as an imperative
    • OK, shoot, what do you have to say
  56. : a sending out of new growth or the growth sent out: as
  57. a stem or branch with its leaves and appendages esp. when not yet mature
  58. offshoot
  59. : an act of shooting (as with a bow or a firearm):
  60. shot
  61. the firing of a missile esp. by artillery
  62. a hunting trip or party
  63. the right to shoot game in a particular area or land over which it is held
  64. a shooting match
    • skeet shoot
  65. a round of shots in a shooting match
  66. the action or an instance of shooting with a camera : a session or a series of sessions of photographing or filming
    • a movie shoot
  67. : a motion or movement of rapid thrusting: as
  68. a sudden or rapid advance
  69. a momentary darting sensation : twinge
  70. thrust
  71. the pace between strokes in rowing
  72. a bar of rays : beam
    • a shoot of sunlight
  73. a rush of water down a steep or rapid
  74. a place where a stream runs or descends swiftly
  75. used to express annoyance or surprise

shot clock -n

  1. a clock in basketball that displays a countdown of the time within which shooting the ball is required

shot·gun ['shät-,gən] -n, vt

  1. a smoothbore shoulder weapon for firing shot at short ranges
  2. an offensive football formation in which the quarterback plays a few yards behind the line of scrimmage and the other backs are scattered as flankers or slotbacks

shotgun -adj

  1. of, relating to, or using a shotgun
  2. involving coercion
  3. covering a wide field with hit-or-miss effectiveness

shotgun house -n

  1. a house in which all the rooms are in direct line with each other usu. front to back called also shotgun cottage shotgun shack

shotgun marriage -n

  1. a marriage forced or required because of pregnancy called also shotgun wedding
  2. a forced union
    • a spate of brokerage mergers...hastily arranged shotgun marriages -- John Brooks

shot hole -n

  1. a drilled hole in which a charge of dynamite is exploded
  2. the dropping out of small rounded fragments of leaves that produces a shot-riddled appearance and is caused esp. by parasitic action

shot put ['shät-,pu̇-tər] -n

  1. a field event in which a shot is heaved for distance

shot·ten ['shä-tᵊn] -adj

  1. having ejected the spawn and so of inferior food value
    • shotten herring

should [shəd, 'shu̇d] -verbal auxiliary

  1. used in auxiliary function to express condition
    • if he should leave his father, his father would die -- Gen 44:22(RSV)
  2. used in auxiliary function to express obligation, propriety, or expediency
    • 'tis commanded I should do so -- Shak.
    • this is as it should be -- H. L. Savage
    • you should brush your teeth after each meal
  3. used in auxiliary function to express futurity from a point of view in the past
    • realized that she should have to do most of her farm work before sunrise -- Ellen Glasgow
  4. used in auxiliary function to express what is probable or expected
    • with an early start, they should be here by noon
  5. used in auxiliary function to express a request in a polite manner or to soften direct statement
    • I should suggest that a guide...is the first essential -- L. D. Reddick

shoul·der ['shōl-dər] -n, adj

  1. the laterally projecting part of the human body formed of the bones and joints with their covering tissue by which the arm is connected with the trunk
  2. the region of the body of nonhuman vertebrates that corresponds to the shoulder but is less projecting
  3. the two shoulders and the upper part of the back usu. used in pl.
  4. capacity for bearing a task or blame
    • placed the guilt squarely on his shoulder s
  5. a cut of meat including the upper joint of the foreleg and adjacent parts
  6. the part of a garment at the wearer's shoulder
  7. : an area adjacent to or along the edge of a higher, more prominent, or more important part: as
  8. the part of a hill or mountain near the top
  9. a lateral protrusion or extension of a hill or mountain
  10. either edge of a roadway
  11. the part of a roadway outside of the traveled way
  12. a rounded or sloping part (as of a stringed instrument or a bottle) where the neck joins the body

shoulder [-d(ə-)riŋ] -vb

  1. to push or thrust with or as if with the shoulder : jostle
    • shoulder ed his way through the crowd
  2. to place or bear on the shoulder
    • shoulder ed her knapsack
  3. to assume the burden or responsibility of
    • shoulder the blame
  4. to push with or as if with the shoulders aggressively

shoulder bag -n

  1. a handbag looped over the shoulder by a strap

shoulder belt -n

  1. an automobile safety belt worn across the torso and over the shoulder called also shoulder harness

shoulder blade -n

  1. scapula

shoulder board -n

  1. one of a pair of broad pieces of stiffened cloth worn on the shoulders of a military uniform and carrying insignia

shoulder girdle -n

  1. the bony or cartilaginous arch that supports the forelimbs of a vertebrate called also pectoral girdle

shoulder knot -n

  1. an ornamental knot of ribbon or lace worn on the shoulder in the 17th and 18th centuries
  2. a detachable ornament of braided wire cord worn on ceremonial occasions on the shoulders of a uniform by a commissioned officer

shoulder patch -n

  1. a cloth patch bearing an identifying mark and worn on one sleeve of a uniform below the shoulder

shoulder strap -n

  1. a strap that passes across the shoulder and holds up an article or garment

should·est [shəl, 'shal] -vb

(variant of shall)

  1. will have to : must
  2. will be able to : can
  3. used to express a command or exhortation
    • you shall go
  4. used in laws, regulations, or directives to express what is mandatory
    • it shall be unlawful to carry firearms
  5. used to express what is inevitable or seems likely to happen in the future
    • we shall have to be ready
    • we shall see
  6. used to express simple futurity
    • when shall we expect you
  7. used to express determination
    • they shall not pass
  8. will go
    • he to England shall along with you -- Shak.

shouldn't ['shu̇-dᵊnt, -dᵊn, dial also 'shu̇-tᵊn(t) or 'shu̇nt]

  1. should not

shouldst [shəl, 'shal] -vb

(variant of shall)

  1. will have to : must
  2. will be able to : can
  3. used to express a command or exhortation
    • you shall go
  4. used in laws, regulations, or directives to express what is mandatory
    • it shall be unlawful to carry firearms
  5. used to express what is inevitable or seems likely to happen in the future
    • we shall have to be ready
    • we shall see
  6. used to express simple futurity
    • when shall we expect you
  7. used to express determination
    • they shall not pass
  8. will go
    • he to England shall along with you -- Shak.

shout ['shau̇t] -vb, n

  1. to utter a sudden loud cry
  2. to command attention as if by shouting
    • a quality that shout s from good novels -- John Gardner
  3. to utter in a loud voice
  4. to cause to be, come, or stop by or as if by shouting
    • shout ed himself hoarse
    • the proponents shout ed down the opposition
  5. a loud cry or call

shouting distance -n

  1. a short distance : easy reach usu. used with within
    • lived within shouting distance of her cousins

shoutout ['shau̇t-,au̇t] -n

  1. a brief expression of greeting or praise given esp. on a broadcast or audio recording

shout song -n

  1. a rhythmic song sung at religious services esp. by black Americans and characterized by responsive singing or shouting between leader and congregation

shove ['shəv] -vb, n

  1. to push along
  2. to push or put in a rough, careless, or hasty manner : thrust
  3. to force by other than physical means : compel
    • shove a bill through the legislature
  4. to move by forcing a way
    • bargain hunters shoving up to the counter
  5. to move something by exerting force
  6. leave usu. used with off
    • shoved off for home
  7. an act or instance of shoving : a forcible push

shov·el ['shə-vəl] -n

  1. a hand implement consisting of a broad scoop or a more or less hollowed out blade with a handle used to lift and throw material
  2. something that resembles a shovel
  3. an excavating machine
  4. a hydraulic diesel-engine driven power shovel
  5. shovelful

shovel ['shə-və-liŋ, 'shəv-liŋ] -vb

  1. to take up and throw with a shovel
  2. to dig or clean out with a shovel
  3. to throw or convey roughly or in a mass as if with a shovel
    • shovel ed his food into his mouth
  4. to use a shovel

shov·el·er ['shə-və-lər, 'shəv-lər] -n

  1. one that shovels
  2. any of several freshwater ducks (genus Anas) that have a large very broad bill and feed by dabbling

shov·el·ful ['shə-vəl-,fu̇l] -n

  1. as much as a shovel will hold

shovel hat -n

  1. a shallow-crowned hat with a wide brim curved up at the sides that is worn by some clergymen

shov·el·nose [-,nōz] -n

  1. a shovel-nosed animal and esp. a fish

shov·elnosed ['shə-vəl-,nōzd] -adj

  1. having a broad flat head, nose, or beak

shovel pass -n

  1. a short underhand pass (as in football)

show ['shō] -vb, adj

  1. to cause or permit to be seen : exhibit
    • show ed pictures of the baby
  2. to offer for sale
    • stores were show ing new spring suits
  3. to present as a public spectacle : perform
  4. to reveal by one's condition, nature, or behavior
    • show ed themselves to be cowards
  5. to give indication or record of
    • an anemometer show s wind speed
  6. to point out : direct attention to
    • show ed the view from the terrace
  7. conduct, usher
    • show ed me to an aisle seat
  8. accord, bestow
    • show s them no mercy
  9. to set forth : declare
  10. allege, plead used esp. in law
    • show cause
  11. to demonstrate or establish by argument or reasoning
    • show a plan to be faulty
  12. inform, instruct
    • show ed me how to solve the problem
  13. to present (an animal) for judging in a show
  14. to be or come in view
    • 3:15 show ed on the clock
  15. to put in an appearance
    • failed to show
  16. to appear in a particular way
    • anger show ed in their faces
  17. seem, appear
  18. to give a theatrical performance
  19. to be staged or presented
  20. to appear as a contestant
  21. to present an animal in a show
  22. to finish third or at least third (as in a horse race)
  23. to exhibit one's artistic work
  24. a demonstrative display
    • a show of strength
  25. outward appearance
  26. a false semblance : pretense
    • made a show of friendship
  27. a more or less true appearance of something : sign
  28. an impressive display
    • his role as househusband...was purely for show -- John Lahr
  29. ostentation
  30. chance
    • gave him a show in spite of his background
  31. something exhibited esp. for wonder or ridicule : spectacle
  32. a large display or exhibition arranged to arouse interest or stimulate sales
    • the national auto show
  33. a competitive exhibition of animals (as dogs) to demonstrate quality in breeding
  34. a theatrical presentation
  35. a radio or television program
  36. entertainment
  37. enterprise, affair
    • they ran the whole show
  38. third place at the finish (as of a horse race)
  39. the major leagues in baseball used with the

showandtell ['shō-ən(d)-'tel] -n

  1. a classroom exercise in which children display an item and talk about it
  2. a public display or demonstration

show bill -n

  1. an advertising poster

show·biz ['shō-,biz] -n, adj

  1. show business
  2. razzle-dazzle, flash

show·boat ['shō-,bōt] -n

  1. a river steamship containing a theater and carrying a troupe of actors to give plays at river communities
  2. one who tries to attract attention by conspicuous behavior

showboat -vi, n

  1. to behave in a conspicuous or ostentatious manner : show off

showbread ['shō-,bred] -n

(variant of shewbread)

  1. consecrated unleavened bread ritually placed by the Jewish priests of ancient Israel on a table in the sanctuary of the Tabernacle on the Sabbath

show business -n

  1. the arts, occupations, and businesses (as theater, motion pictures, and television) that comprise the entertainment industry

show·case ['shō-,kās] -n

  1. a glazed case, box, or cabinet for displaying and protecting wares in a store or articles in a museum
  2. a setting, occasion, or medium for exhibiting something or someone esp. in an attractive or favorable aspect

showcase -vt

  1. to exhibit esp. in an attractive or favorable aspect
    • showcase new talent

show·down ['shō-,dau̇n] -n

  1. the placing of poker hands faceup on the table to determine the winner of a pot
  2. a decisive confrontation or contest

show·er ['shau̇(-ə)r] -n, adj

  1. a fall of rain of short duration
  2. a similar fall of sleet, hail, or snow
  3. something resembling a rain shower
    • a shower of statistics
  4. a fall of meteors which belong to a single group and whose trails appear to originate at the same point in space
  5. a party given by friends who bring gifts often of a particular kind
    • a bridal shower
  6. a bath in which water is showered on the body
  7. the apparatus that provides a shower

shower ['shau̇(-ə)r-ər] -vi, n

  1. to rain or fall in or as if in a shower
    • letters shower ed on him in praise and protest
  2. to bathe in a shower
  3. to wet (as with water) in a spray, fine stream, or drops
  4. to cause to fall in a shower
    • factory chimneys shower ed soot on the district
  5. to cause a shower to fall on
    • shower ed the newlyweds with rice
  6. to give in abundance
    • shower ed her with honors

show·er ['shō-ər] -n

  1. one that shows : exhibitor

shower bath -n

  1. shower

show·er·head ['shau̇(-ə)r-,hed] -n

  1. a fixture for directing the spray of water in a bathroom shower

show·girl ['shō-,gər(-ə)l] -n

  1. a chorus girl in a musical comedy or nightclub show

showing -n

  1. an act or an instance of putting something (as an artist's work) on view : display
  2. the presentation of a motion picture
  3. show
    • fashion showing s
  4. performance, record
    • made a good showing in competition
  5. a statement or presentation of a case
  6. appearance, evidence

show jumping -n

  1. the competitive riding of horses one at a time over a set course of obstacles in which the winner is judged according to ability and speed

show·man ['shō-mən] -n

  1. the producer of a play or theatrical show
  2. a notably spectacular, dramatic, or effective performer

showme ['shō-mē] -adj

  1. insistent on proof or evidence

showoff ['shō-,ȯf] -n, adj

  1. the act of showing off
  2. one that shows off : exhibitionist

show off -vt

  1. to display proudly
    • wanted to show our new car off
  2. to seek to attract attention by conspicuous behavior
    • boys showing off for the girls

show·piece ['shō-,pēs] -n

  1. a prime or outstanding example used for exhibition

show·place [-,plās] -n

  1. a place (as an estate or building) that is regarded as an example of beauty or excellence

show ring -n

  1. a ring (as at a cattle show) where animals are displayed

show·room [-,rüm, -,ru̇m] -n

  1. a room where merchandise is exhibited for sale or where samples are displayed

show·stop·per [-,stä-pər] -n, adj

  1. an act, song, or performer that wins applause so prolonged as to interrupt a performance
  2. something or someone exceptionally arresting or attractive
    • the gold crown was the showstopper of the exhibition
  3. one that stops or could stop the progress, operation, or functioning of something

show·time ['shō-,tīm] -n

  1. the scheduled or actual time at which a show or something likened to a show begins

show trial -n

  1. a trial (as of political opponents) in which the verdict is rigged and a public confession is often extracted

show up -vt

  1. to expose or discredit esp. by revealing faults
    • showed them up as frauds
  2. to embarrass or cause to look bad esp. by comparison
    • trying to show up the boss
  3. reveal
    • showed up my ignorance
  4. arrive, appear
    • showed up late for his own wedding
  5. to be plainly evident

show window -n

  1. an outside display window in which a store exhibits merchandise
  2. a sample or setting used to exhibit or illustrate something at its best

showy ['shō-ē] -adj, adv, n

  1. making an attractive show : striking
    • a showy orchid
  2. given to or marked by a flashy often tasteless display

sho·yu ['shō-(,)yü] -n

  1. soy

shp -abbr

  1. shaft horsepower

shrank ['shriŋk, esp Southern 'sriŋk] -vb, adj, n

(variant of shrink)

  1. to contract or curl up the body or part of it : huddle, cower
  2. to contract to less extent or compass
  3. to become smaller or more compacted
  4. to lose substance or weight
  5. to lessen in value : dwindle
  6. to recoil instinctively (as from something painful or horrible)
    • shrank from the challenge
  7. to hold oneself back : refrain
    • did not shrink from telling the truth
  8. to cause to contract or shrink
  9. to compact (cloth) by causing to contract when subjected to washing, boiling, steaming, or other processes
  10. the act of shrinking
  11. shrinkage
  12. a clinical psychiatrist or psychologist

shrap·nel ['shrap-nᵊl, esp Southern 'srap-] -n

  1. a projectile that consists of a case provided with a powder charge and a large number of usu. lead balls and that is exploded in flight
  2. bomb, mine, or shell fragments

shred ['shred, esp Southern 'sred] -n

  1. a long narrow strip cut or torn off
  2. a shredded, damaged, or ruined condition
    • a reputation torn to shred s
  3. particle, scrap
    • not a shred of evidence
  4. to cut off
  5. to cut or tear into shreds
    • shredded the documents
  6. demolish
    • sharp lawyers shredding hapless witnesses -- Charles Krauthammer
  7. to come apart in or break up into shreds

shredded wheat -n

  1. a breakfast cereal made from cooked partially dried wheat that is shredded and molded into biscuits which are then oven-baked and toasted

shrew ['shrü, esp Southern 'srü] -n, adj

  1. any of a family (Soricidae) of small chiefly nocturnal insectivores related to the moles and distinguished by a long pointed snout, very small eyes, and short velvety fur
  2. an ill-tempered scolding woman
  3. curse

shrewd ['shrüd, esp Southern 'srüd] -adj, adv, n

  1. mischievous
  2. abusive, shrewish
  3. ominous, dangerous
  4. severe, hard
    • a shrewd knock
  5. sharp, piercing
    • a shrewd wind
  6. marked by clever discerning awareness and hardheaded acumen
    • shrewd common sense
  7. given to wily and artful ways or dealing
    • a shrewd operator

shrew·ish ['shrü-ish, esp Southern 'srü-] -adj, adv, n

  1. ill-natured, intractable

shri ['srē, 'shrē] -n

(variant of sri)

  1. used as a conventional title of respect when addressing or speaking of a distinguished Indian

shriek ['shrēk, esp Southern 'srēk] -vb

  1. to utter a sharp shrill sound
  2. to cry out in a high-pitched voice : screech
  3. to suggest such a cry (as by vividness of expression)
    • neon colors shriek ed for attention -- Calvin Tomkins
  4. to utter with a shriek
    • shriek an alarm
  5. to express in a manner suggestive of a shriek
  6. a shrill usu. wild or involuntary cry
  7. a sound resembling a shriek
    • the shriek of chalk on the blackboard

shrie·val ['shrē-vəl, esp Southern 'srē-] -adj

  1. of or relating to a sheriff

shrie·val·ty [-vəl-tē] -n

  1. the office, term of office, or jurisdiction of a sheriff

shrieve ['shrīv, esp Southern 'srīv] -vb

(variant of shrive)

  1. to administer the sacrament of reconciliation to
  2. to free from guilt
  3. to confess one's sins esp. to a priest

shrift ['shrift, esp Southern 'srift] -n

  1. a remission of sins pronounced by a priest in the sacrament of reconciliation
  2. the act of shriving : confession
  3. confessional

shrike ['shrīk, esp Southern 'srīk] -n

  1. any of numerous usu. largely gray or brownish oscine birds (family Laniidae) that have a hooked bill, feed chiefly on insects, and often impale their prey on thorns

shrill ['shril, esp Southern 'sril] -vb

  1. scream
  2. to utter or emit an acute piercing sound
  3. having or emitting a sharp high-pitched tone or sound : piercing
  4. accompanied by sharp high-pitched sounds or cries
    • shrill gaiety
  5. having a sharp or vivid effect on the senses
    • shrill light
  6. strident, intemperate
    • shrill anger
    • shrill criticism
  7. a shrill sound
    • the shrill of the ship's whistle

shrimp ['shrimp, esp Southern 'srimp] -n, adj

  1. any of numerous mostly small and marine decapod crustaceans (suborders Dendrobranchiata and Pleocyemata) having a slender elongated body, a compressed abdomen, and a long spiny rostrum and including some (esp. family Penaeidae) that are commercially important as food
  2. a small crustacean (as an amphipod or a branchiopod) resembling the true shrimps
  3. a very small or puny person or thing
  4. to fish for or catch shrimps

shrimp·er ['shrim-pər, esp Southern 'srim-] -n

  1. a shrimp fisherman
  2. a boat engaged in shrimping

shrine ['shrīn, esp Southern 'srīn] -n

  1. a case, box, or receptacle
  2. one in which sacred relics (as the bones of a saint) are deposited
  3. a place in which devotion is paid to a saint or deity : sanctuary
  4. a niche containing a religious image
  5. a receptacle (as a tomb) for the dead
  6. a place or object hallowed by its associations
  7. enshrine

Shrin·er ['shrī-nər, esp Southern 'srī-] -n

  1. a member of a secret fraternal society that is non-Masonic but admits only Master Masons to membership

shrink ['shriŋk, esp Southern 'sriŋk] -vb, adj, n

  1. to contract or curl up the body or part of it : huddle, cower
  2. to contract to less extent or compass
  3. to become smaller or more compacted
  4. to lose substance or weight
  5. to lessen in value : dwindle
  6. to recoil instinctively (as from something painful or horrible)
    • shrank from the challenge
  7. to hold oneself back : refrain
    • did not shrink from telling the truth
  8. to cause to contract or shrink
  9. to compact (cloth) by causing to contract when subjected to washing, boiling, steaming, or other processes
  10. the act of shrinking
  11. shrinkage
  12. a clinical psychiatrist or psychologist

shrink·age ['shriŋ-kij, esp Southern 'sriŋ-] -n

  1. the act or process of shrinking
  2. the loss in weight of livestock during shipment and in the process of preparing the meat for consumption
  3. the loss of goods esp. by theft
    • inventory shrinkage
  4. the amount lost by shrinkage

shrinking violet -n

  1. a bashful or retiring person

shrinkwrap ['shriŋk-,rap, esp Southern 'sriŋk-] -vt, n

  1. to wrap (as a book or meat) in tough clear plastic film that is then shrunk (as by heating) to form a tightly fitting package

shrive ['shrīv, esp Southern 'srīv] -vb

  1. to administer the sacrament of reconciliation to
  2. to free from guilt
  3. to confess one's sins esp. to a priest

shriv·el ['shri-vəl, esp Southern 'sri-] -vb

  1. to draw into wrinkles esp. with a loss of moisture
  2. to become reduced to inanition, helplessness, or inefficiency
  3. dwindle
  4. to cause to shrivel

shroff ['shräf, 'shrȯf, esp Southern 'sräf, 'srȯf] -n

  1. a banker or money changer in the Far East
  2. one who tests and evaluates coin

Shrop·shire ['shräp-,shir, -shər, esp US -,shī(-ə)r, esp Southern 'sräp-] -n

  1. any of a breed of dark-faced hornless sheep of English origin that are raised for both mutton and wool

shroud ['shrau̇d, esp Southern 'srau̇d] -n

  1. shelter, protection
  2. : something that covers, screens, or guards: as
  3. one of two flanges that give peripheral support to turbine or fan bedding
  4. a usu. fiberglass guard that protects a spacecraft from the heat of launching
  5. burial garment : winding-sheet, cerement
  6. one of the ropes leading usu. in pairs from a ship's mastheads to give lateral support to the masts
  7. one of the cords that suspend the harness of a parachute from the canopy
  8. to cover for protection
  9. conceal
  10. to cut off from view : obscure
    • trees shroud ed by fog
    • this point is shroud ed in uncertainty -- Henry James
  11. to veil under another appearance (as by obscuring or disguising)
    • shroud ed the decision in a series of formalities
  12. to dress for burial
  13. to seek shelter

Shrove·tide ['shrōv-,tīd, esp Southern 'srōv-] -n

  1. the period usu. of three days immediately preceding Ash Wednesday

Shrove Tuesday ['shrōv-, esp Southern 'srōv-] -n

  1. the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday

shrub ['shrəb, esp Southern 'srəb] -n

  1. a low usu. several-stemmed woody plant
  2. an aged blend of fruit juice, sugar, and spirits served chilled and diluted with water
  3. a beverage made by adding acidulated fruit juice to iced water

shrub·bery ['shrə-b(ə-)rē, esp Southern 'srə-] -n

  1. a planting or growth of shrubs

shrub·by ['shrə-bē, esp Southern 'srə-] -adj

  1. consisting of or covered with shrubs
  2. resembling a shrub

shrub·land ['shrəb-,land, esp Southern 'srəb-] -n

  1. land on which shrubs are the dominant vegetation

shrug ['shrəg, esp Southern 'srəg] -vb

  1. to raise or draw in the shoulders esp. to express aloofness, indifference, or uncertainty
  2. to lift or contract (the shoulders) esp. to express aloofness, indifference, or uncertainty
  3. an act of shrugging
  4. a woman's small waist-length or shorter jacket

shrug off -vt

  1. to shake off
    • shrugging off sleep
  2. to brush aside : minimize
    • shrugs off the problem
  3. to remove (a garment) by wriggling out

shtetl ['shte-tᵊl, 'shtā-] -n

  1. a small Jewish town or village formerly found in Eastern Europe

shtick ['shtik] -n, adj

  1. a usu. comic or repetitious performance or routine : bit
  2. one's special trait, interest, or activity : bag
    • he's alive and well and now doing his shtick out in Hollywood -- Robert Daley

shuck ['shək] -n

  1. : shell, husk: as
  2. the outer covering of a nut or of Indian corn
  3. the shell of an oyster or clam
  4. something of little value usu. used in pl.
    • not worth shuck s
  5. to strip of shucks
  6. to peel off (as clothing) often used with off
  7. to lay aside often used with off
    • bad habits are being shuck ed off -- A. W. Smith

shucks ['shəks] -interj

  1. used esp. to express mild disappointment or embarrassment
    • shucks, it was nothing

shud·der ['shə-dər] -vi

  1. to tremble convulsively : shiver, quiver

shudder [-d(ə-)rē] -n, adj

  1. an act of shuddering

shuf·fle ['shə-fəl] -vb, n

  1. to mix in a mass confusedly : jumble
  2. to put or thrust aside or under cover
    • shuffled the whole matter out of his mind
  3. to rearrange (as playing cards, dominoes, or tiles) to produce a random order
  4. to move about, back and forth, or from one place to another : shift
    • shuffle funds among various accounts
  5. to move (as the feet) by sliding along or back and forth without lifting
  6. to perform (as a dance) with a dragging, sliding step
  7. to work into or out of trickily
    • shuffled out of the difficulty
  8. to act or speak in a shifty or evasive manner
  9. to move or walk in a sliding dragging manner without lifting the feet
  10. to dance in a lazy nonchalant manner with sliding and tapping motions of the feet
  11. to execute in a perfunctory or clumsy manner
  12. to mix playing cards or counters by shuffling

shuffle -n

  1. an evasion of the issue : equivocation
  2. an act of shuffling (as of cards)
  3. a right or turn to shuffle
    • it's your shuffle
  4. a confusing jumble (as of papers or events)
    • lost in the shuffle
  5. a dragging sliding movement
  6. a sliding or scraping step in dancing
  7. a dance characterized by such a step
  8. a rhythm where each beat of the measure is played as a triplet with the first and second parts of the triplet tied and the third part accented
  9. music played in a shuffle rhythm

shuf·fle·board ['shə-fəl-,bȯrd] -n

  1. a game in which players use long-handled cues to shove disks into scoring areas of a diagram marked on a smooth surface
  2. a diagram on which shuffleboard is played

shul ['shu̇l] -n

  1. synagogue

shun ['shən] -vt, n

  1. to avoid deliberately and esp. habitually
    • shun s publicity

shun·pike ['shən-,pīk] -n

  1. a side road used to avoid the toll on or the speed and traffic of a superhighway

shunt ['shənt] -vb, n

  1. to turn off to one side : shift
    • was shunt ed aside
  2. to switch (as a train) from one track to another
  3. to provide with or divert by means of an electrical shunt
  4. to divert (blood) from one part to another by a surgical shunt
  5. shuttle
    • shunt ed the missiles from shelter to shelter
  6. to move to the side
  7. to travel back and forth
    • shunt ed between the two towns
  8. : a means or mechanism for turning or thrusting aside: as
  9. a railroad switch
  10. a conductor joining two points in an electrical circuit so as to form a parallel or alternative path through which a portion of the current may pass (as for regulating the amount passing in the main circuit)
  11. a surgical passage created to divert a bodily fluid (as blood) from one vessel or part to another
  12. a device (as a narrow tube) used to establish a similar passage
  13. an accident (as a collision between two cars) esp. in auto racing

shush ['shəsh, 'shu̇sh] -vt, n

  1. to urge to be quiet : hush

shut ['shət] -vb

  1. to move into position to close an opening
    • shut the lid
  2. to prevent entrance to or passage to or from
  3. to confine by or as if by enclosure
    • shut herself in her study
  4. to fasten with a lock or bolt
  5. to close by bringing enclosing or covering parts together
    • shut the eyes
  6. to cause to cease or suspend an operation or activity often used with down
  7. to close itself or become closed
    • flowers that shut at night
  8. to cease or suspend an operation or activity often used with down
  9. closed, fastened, or folded together
  10. rid, clear, free usu. used with of
  11. the act of shutting

shut·down ['shət-,dau̇n] -n

  1. the cessation or suspension of an operation or activity

shut down -vi

  1. to settle so as to obscure vision : close in
    • the night shut down early
  2. to make ineffective in competition
    • shut down the opposition's offensive line

shute ['shüt] -n

(variant of chute)

  1. fall
  2. a quick descent (as in a river) : rapid
  3. an inclined plane, sloping channel, or passage down or through which things may pass : slide
  4. parachute
  5. spinnaker
  6. to convey by a chute
  7. to go in or as if in a chute
  8. to utilize a chute (as by passing ore down it)

shuteye ['shət-,ī] -n

  1. sleep
    • get some shuteye

shutin ['shət-,in] -n

  1. a person who is confined to home, a room, or bed because of illness or incapacity
  2. a narrow gorge-shaped part of an otherwise wide valley
  3. available oil or gas which is not being produced from an existing well
  4. confined to one's home or an institution by illness or incapacity
  5. secretive, brooding
    • a bitter, shutin face -- Claudia Cassidy
  6. tending to avoid social contact : withdrawn
    • the shutin personality type -- S. K. Weinberg

shut in -vt

  1. confine, enclose
  2. to prevent production of (oil or gas) by closing down a well

shut·off ['shət-,ȯf] -n

  1. something (as a valve) that shuts off
  2. stoppage, interruption

shut off -vt

  1. to close off : separate usu. used with from
    • shut off from the rest of the world
  2. to cut off (as flow or passage) : stop
    • shuts off the oxygen supply
  3. to stop the operation of (as a machine)
    • shut the motor off
  4. to cease operating : stop
    • shuts off automatically

shut·out ['shət-,au̇t] -n

  1. a game or contest in which one side fails to score
  2. a preemptive bid in bridge

shut out -vt

  1. exclude
  2. to prevent (an opponent) from scoring in a game or contest
  3. to forestall the bidding of (bridge opponents) by making a high or preemptive bid

shut·ter ['shə-tər] -n, adj

  1. one that shuts
  2. a usu. movable cover or screen for a window or door
  3. a mechanical device that limits the passage of light
  4. a camera component that allows light to enter by opening and closing an aperture
  5. the movable louvers in a pipe organ by which the swell box is opened

shutter -vt

  1. to close by or as if by shutters
    • corporations shutter ing their production plants
  2. to furnish with shutters

shut·ter·bug ['shə-tər-,bəg] -n

  1. a photography enthusiast

shut·tle ['shə-tᵊl] -n, adj

  1. a device used in weaving for passing the thread of the weft between the threads of the warp
  2. a spindle-shaped device holding the thread in tatting, knotting, or netting
  3. a sliding thread holder for the lower thread of a sewing machine that carries the lower thread through a loop of the upper thread to make a stitch
  4. shuttlecock
  5. a going back and forth regularly over an often short route by a vehicle
  6. an established route used in a shuttle
  7. a vehicle used in a shuttle
    • a shuttle bus
  8. space shuttle

shuttle ['shət-liŋ, 'shə-tᵊl-iŋ] -vb

  1. to cause to move or travel back and forth frequently
  2. to transport in, by, or as if by a shuttle
    • shuttled them to school
  3. to move or travel back and forth frequently
  4. to move by or as if by a shuttle

shut·tle·cock ['shə-tᵊl-,käk] -n

  1. a lightweight conical object with a rounded often rubber-covered nose that is used in badminton

shuttlecock -vt

  1. to send or toss to and fro : bandy

shuttle diplomacy -n

  1. negotiations esp. between nations carried on by an intermediary who shuttles back and forth between the disputants

shut up -vt

  1. to cause (a person) to stop talking
  2. to cease writing or speaking

shy ['shī] -adj, adv, n

  1. easily frightened : timid
  2. disposed to avoid a person or thing
    • publicity shy
  3. hesitant in committing oneself : circumspect
  4. sensitively diffident or retiring : reserved
  5. expressive of such a state or nature
    • a shy smile
  6. secluded, hidden
  7. having less than the full or specified amount or number : short
    • just shy of six feet tall
  8. disreputable
    • gambling hells and shy saloons -- Blackwood's
  9. to develop or show a dislike or distaste usu. used with from or away from
    • an author who shies away from publicity
  10. to start suddenly aside through fright or alarm
  11. a sudden start aside (as from fright)
  12. to make a sudden throw
  13. to throw (an object) with a jerk : fling
  14. the act of shying : toss, throw
  15. a verbal fling or attack
  16. cockshy

shy·lock ['shī-,läk] -n

  1. the Jewish usurer and antagonist of Antonio in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
  2. loan shark

shylock -vi

  1. to lend money at high rates of interest
    • expose of systematic thievery...shylock ing, and murder -- Current Biog.

shy·ster ['shīs-tər] -n

  1. a person who is professionally unscrupulous esp. in the practice of law or politics : pettifogger