shiner

American  

[shahy-ner] / ˈʃaɪ nər /

noun

1. a person or thing that shines.

2. Slang. black eye.

3. any of various small American freshwater fishes having glistening scales, especially a minnow.

4. any of various silvery, marine fishes, as the menhaden or butterfish.

5. a defect in silk or synthetic filament or fabric, produced either in the process of winding or as a result of shuttle friction and appearing on fabric as a shiny streak.

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shiner British  

/ ˈʃaɪnə /

noun

1. something that shines, such as a polishing device

2. any of numerous small North American freshwater cyprinid fishes of the genus Notropis and related genera, such as N. cornutus ( common shiner ) and Notemigonus crysoleucas ( golden shiner )

3. a popular name for the mackerel

4. informal a black eye

5. old-fashioned a vagrant or tramp

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Etymology

Origin of shiner

1350–1400; 1900–05 shiner for def. 2; Middle English; see shine ¹, -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shiner

Gay had previously told several different stories about how she got the shiner, but had maintained until recently that she didn’t fully recall the events that led to her injury.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2024

The massacre was sparked by the arrest of Dick Rowland, 19, a Black shoe shiner who was accused of assault against Sarah Page, 17, a white elevator operator.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 1, 2021

For decades, white and black Tulsans refused to talk about the events of May 31, 1921, when a black man who worked as a shoe shiner was accused of assaulting a white woman.

From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2020

Crappie are fair to slow on mostly jigs or live shiner.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 30, 2019

“Yep. Boy. Noses gush, don’t they? Looks like your glasses didn’t do you any favors, either. You have a cut there from that nose pad thing. May get a decent shiner out of it too.”

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell