shine
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
shines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shone,
past participle, past
-
shined,
past participle, past
-
shining
present participle
-
to give forth or glow with light; shed or cast light.
-
(of light) to appear brightly or strongly, especially uncomfortably so.
Wear dark glasses so the sun won't shine in your eyes.
-
to be or appear unusually animated or bright, as the eyes or face.
-
to appear with brightness or clearness, as feelings.
-
to excel or be conspicuous.
to shine in school.
verb (used with object)
-
shines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shone,
past participle, past
-
shined,
past participle, past
-
shining
present participle
noun
verb phrase
idioms
-
take a shine to, to take a liking or fancy to.
That little girl has really taken a shine to you.
-
come rain or shine, Also
-
regardless of the weather.
-
no matter what the circumstances may be.
Come rain or shine, he is always on the job.
-
noun
verb
-
(intr) to emit light
-
(intr) to glow or be bright with reflected light
-
(tr) to direct the light of (a lamp, etc)
he shone the torch in my eyes
-
(tr; past tense and past participle shined) to cause to gleam by polishing
to shine shoes
-
(intr) to be conspicuously competent; excel
she shines at tennis
-
(intr) to appear clearly; be conspicuous
the truth shone out of his words
noun
-
the state or quality of shining; sheen; lustre
-
-
whatever the weather
-
regardless of circumstances
-
-
informal short for moonshine
-
informal a liking or fancy (esp in the phrase take a shine to )
Synonym Usage
Shine, beam, glare refer to the emitting or reflecting of light. Shine refers to a steady glowing or reflecting of light: to shine in the sun. That which beams gives forth a radiant or bright light: to beam like a star. Glare refers to the shining of a light that is not only bright but so strong as to be unpleasant and dazzling: to glare like a headlight.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
shinesimple
-
shinessimple
-
have shinedperfect
-
have shoneperfect
-
has shinedperfect
-
has shoneperfect
-
am shiningprogressive
-
are shiningprogressive
-
is shiningprogressive
-
have been shiningperfect progressive
-
has been shiningperfect progressive
Past
-
shinedsimple
-
shonesimple
-
had shinedperfect
-
had shoneperfect
-
was shiningprogressive
-
were shiningprogressive
-
had been shiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shine1
First recorded before 900; Middle English verb shinen, shinnen, Old English scīnan; cognate with Dutch schijnen, German scheinen, Old Norse skīna, Gothic skeinan
Origin of shine2
First recorded in 1935–40; by shortening
Explanation
To shine is to give off a bright, glowing light. Your porch light shines at night, and if the sky is clear and cloudless, the moon will shine too. The sun and a light bulb both shine, and things that simply reflect light can be said to shine too, like a diamond ring or clean, glossy hair. In a more figurative way, people shine when they stand out for doing something extremely well: "The lead actress really shines in her role as Lady Macbeth." The Old English root of shine is scinan, which means "shed light, be radiant, or illuminate," and also "be conspicuous."
Vocabulary lists containing shine
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I buy more every payday, rain or shine.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Elevated government bond yields continued to edge to new highs, taking the shine off stocks around the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Critics and audiences responded in turn, taking an immediate shine to Bryan’s doofiness and contrasting it with Alice’s purposeful, goal-oriented approach to a zombie apocalypse.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
The dispersed ash eventually settles out of the atmosphere, permitting the Sun’s rays to shine fully on the surface again – reviving agriculture and ecosystems.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
“Rise and shine, you two. They’ll soon be bringing Camilla’s breakfast.”
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
Martin said he appreciated the meeting going ahead, telling the prime minister: "I think your sense of duty shines through."
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
The low-basis shares are where this strategy shines.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Where the restaurant really shines, though, is its three-course brunch.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
"She loves everybody. She's inclusive. She's empathetic, she's a light, she shines bright for everyone. I keep telling myself I'm done crying. I thought I was cried out."
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
I sit in between Rani and an old woman whose hair shines like moonlight on the ocean.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
An agent shined purple UV light on my hands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Although the passing game has yet to take flight, the Bruins’ ground attack shined again with 214 yards and four touchdowns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Though the rate of growth in the number of millionaires continues to be striking, UBS shined a light on adults with wealth between $5 million and $100 million.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Yet he made the bulls more prominent, and shined the sun on the white one in the center.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
For a nickel, they had their new leather shoes shined and gave their old ones away to the shoe shiner.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
Soccer’s much ballyhooed “golden generation,” it was a performance that hardly shone and a sign that whatever progress the federation has made over the past two decades hasn’t gone as far as hoped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Arsenal teenager Max Dowman shone with two goals in the 4-2 Carabao Cup win over Ipswich Town - but boss Mikel Arteta warned they cannot rush his development.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
He also lauded Irish golfer Shane Lowry, who has shone at the Open so far, and Rory McIlroy, the Northern Irish defending champion who has previously played golf with the American leader.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
The jump in U.S. borrowing costs—and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s intervention to bring them back down—has shone a spotlight not just on America’s growing debt problem but also on the world’s, reports Chelsey Dulaney.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Its wings too were scaled; scales so fine that delicate pink membranes shone through on the underside.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Video showing the debris began circulating on social media Monday, showing Yemenis gathered around the body of a missile, the lights of their mobile phones shining across its fins, motor and serial number.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Not long after sunset, Venus will appear as an intensely bright point of light low above the western horizon, shining more brightly than any star around it.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
Dubbed a "one-woman WikiLeaks", Caruana Galizia had exposed corruption at the highest level in the country, shining a spotlight on murky links between Malta's business and political elites.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
He also says to watch out for Venus shining brightly in the evenings.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
The sun was shining so bright that I had to squint.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
