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:
Sunlight reaches the exhaust high in the atmosphere, making the spreading plume shine brightly against the darker sky below.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
This has given hard-hit corners of the market a chance to shine.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 17, 2026
“He always allowed the musicians around him to shine in their strengths, generous with the spotlight and appreciative of what each brought to the music,” Steiling continued in the band’s Facebook post.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
But it’s not like Altman doesn’t see the value in ascribing just a little bit of humanlike shine to A.I. models.
From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026
He pulled the silver cuff off and held it at a different angle to let its polished exterior shine.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Peak season around the Mediterranean may be winding down, but fall and spring are when the region is at its best: The sun still shines, the crowds thin and prices drop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
But, even with the Dodgers’ star-studded lineup, the spotlight shines brightest on Ohtani.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The technique shines photons onto a material and ejects electrons from its surface, allowing researchers to map its electronic structure and magnetic states.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
The low-basis shares are where this strategy shines.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
But Abuelita shines the same big smile on me and tries to hug me too.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
Then he pulled out the papers from the restaurant and shined the light on them too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 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
By giving an episode to each of our lead four characters, we could use their view of the island to make sure the complexity of Golding’s telling shined.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Meanwhile, details tucked into the SpaceX IPO prospectus made public in late May shined light onto early steps by the company to rent computing power to customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Mr. Canton wore brown shoes that looked like someone shined them ten minutes ago.
From "Orbiting Jupiter" by Gary D. Schmidt
As a spotlight shone over him, Styles made a moving speech, in which he honoured Liam Payne, who died two years ago after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
His star shone brightly enough for the group to brand its collections "Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello", while celebrity fans from Kate Moss, Dua Lipa, Zoe Saldana and Hailey Bieber gave him cross-generation appeal.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Brodie Spencer and Terry Devlin were drafted in at the full-back positions and both impressed, but Brown's centre-back partners McConville and Tom Atcheson really shone.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
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
Beneath the shadow of his hood, his amber eye shone.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Sekyiwa Shakur, the rapper’s sister, told the judge the killing had crippled her family, as he was the provider for two dozen relatives and was “my shining star, my shining prince.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
He was truly my shining star, my shining prince.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Surging Treasury yields have begun to hammer parts of the stock market that might easily be overlooked, especially with the spotlight once again shining brightly on a small group of glamorous tech companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Myles Lewis-Skelly: A first England start in centre midfield for Lewis-Skelly after shining for Arsenal.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
When she had licked the last bloodred morsels of borscht from her whiskers, the wolf swept her shining eyes ’round the room.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
