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Definition of shy verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

shy

verb
 
/ʃaɪ/
 
/ʃaɪ/
[intransitive]
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they shy
 
/ʃaɪ/
 
/ʃaɪ/
he / she / it shies
 
/ʃaɪz/
 
/ʃaɪz/
past simple shied
 
/ʃaɪd/
 
/ʃaɪd/
past participle shied
 
/ʃaɪd/
 
/ʃaɪd/
-ing form shying
 
/ˈʃaɪɪŋ/
 
/ˈʃaɪɪŋ/
Phrasal Verbs
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  1. shy (at something) (especially of a horse) to turn away with a sudden movement because it is afraid or surprised
    • My horse shied at the unfamiliar noise.
    • Her horse shied violently at a gorse bush.
    see also coconut shy
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • violently
    preposition
    • at
    See full entry
    Word OriginOld English scēoh ‘(of a horse) easily frightened’, of Germanic origin; related to German scheuen ‘shun’, scheuchen ‘scare’; compare with eschew. The verb dates from the mid 17th cent.
See shy in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
alloy
noun
 
 
From the Topic
Physics and chemistry
C2
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