shy
verb/ʃaɪ/
/ʃaɪ/
[intransitive]Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| 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/ |
- 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.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- violently
- at
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.Want to learn more?
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shy