shy
Easily frightened; timid.
Adjective 4 meanings
Easily frightened; timid.
Reserved; disinclined to familiar approach.
“He is very shy with strangers.”
Cautious; wary; suspicious.
Short, insufficient or less than.
“By our count your shipment came up two shy of the bill of lading amount.”
Verb 4 meanings
To avoid due to caution, embarrassment or timidness.
To jump back in fear.
“The horse shied at the unexpected approach of a motor vehicle.”
To throw sideways with a jerk; to fling.
“to shy a stone”
To throw a ball with two hands above the head, especially when it has crossed the side lines in a football (soccer) match.
Noun 4 meanings
An act of throwing.
A place for throwing.
A sudden start aside, as by a horse.
In the Eton College wall game, a point scored by lifting the ball against the wall in the calx.
Etymology
From Middle English shy (“shy”), from Old English sċēoh (“shy”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeuh (“shy, fearful”), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz (“shy, fearful”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian skjou (“shy”), Dutch schuw (“shy”), German scheu (“shy”), Danish sky (“shy”).
Similar and opposite words
SHY at a glance
SHY has 3 letters and scores 9 points in Scrabble (S 1 + H 4 + Y 4) and 7 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #5,456 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with shy
All rhymes- FISHY14
- FLASHY15
- TRASHY12
- SQUISHY22
- PUSHY13
- FLESHY15
- BUSHY13
- MUSHY13
- CUSHY13
- MARSHY14
- WASHY14
- ASHY10
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