- shy⇄adj. 1a. uncomfortable in company; bashful; retiring.
Ex. He is shy and dislikes parties.
b. showing or resulting from bashfulness.
Ex. shy looks.
2. easily frightened away; timid.
Ex. A deer is a shy animal.
3. cau - shy⇄expr. fight shy of. See under fight.
- shy⇄expr. shy away from, to avoid out of shyness or fear; shrink from.
Ex. Some parents who shy away from a discussion group will feel more freeto chat in a sewing class or furniture repair project (New York Times). - shy⇄expr. shy of,
a. having little; short of.
Ex. I am shy of cash this week.
b. not coming up to; lacking.
Ex. My brother is two months shy of being of voting age. - shy⇄noun a sudden start to one side.
- shy⇄noun shyness.
- shy⇄noun 1. a throw; fling.
Ex. Jack-in-the-box--three shies a penny (Dickens).
2. (Informal.) a verbal attack; sarcastic or taunting remark.
Ex. He wasn't above taking a few shies at his fellow school-board members.
3. (Informal.) - shy⇄shy (1), adjective, shyer,shyestorshier,shiest,verb, shied,shying,noun, pl.shies.
- shy⇄shy (2), verb, shied,shying,noun, pl.shies.
- shy⇄v.i. 1. to start back or aside suddenly.
Ex. The horse shied at the newspaper blowing along the ground.
2. to draw back; shrink.
Ex. He would shy in pretended fright at every shadow (New Yorker). - shy⇄v.t., v.i. to throw; fling.
Ex. to shy a stone at a tree.