noun | verb
shadowshadow1 /ˈʃædoʊ/ ●●● W3 noun 1
DARK SHAPE a)[countable] a dark shape that an object or a person makes on a surface when the person or object is between that surface and the light: I saw his shadow on the wall.shadow of The shadow of a bird flying overhead moved across the ground. The apple tree cast a shadow across the front lawn (=made a shadow). b)[countable] a dark shape, especially of a person, that you cannot see well because it is in a dark place: Just then, a dark shadow emerged from the mist.2DARKNESS [uncountable] (also shadows [plural]) darkness caused by something that prevents light from entering a place: A tall man stepped out of the shadows.in shadow The room was half in shadow.in the shadows In the shadows, something moved.3BAD EFFECT/INFLUENCE [singular] the bad effect or influence that something has, which makes other things seem less enjoyable, attractive, or impressive: in/under the shadow of something Life was hard in the shadow of dictatorship. The scandal cast a shadow over the rest of his career.4beyond/without a shadow of a doubt leaving no doubt at all: His guilt has been proved beyond a shadow of a doubt.5be a shadow of your former self to be much weaker or less powerful than before: Following years of heavy losses, the company is only a shadow of its former self.6in the shadow of somebody (also in somebody’s shadow) less happy and successful than you could be, because someone else gets noticed much more: Kate grew up in the shadow of her movie-star sister.7shadows under somebody’s eyes small dark areas under someone’s eyes that show he or she is tired8somebody WHO FOLLOWS somebody’s shadow someone who follows someone else everywhere he or she goes → see also afraid of your own shadow at afraid (7), eye shadow, five o'clock shadowCOLLOCATIONSverbscast/throw a shadow (=make it appear) The building cast a shadow across the narrow street.a shadow falls somewhere (=appears on something) The footsteps came closer, and a shadow fell across the table.the shadows lengthen (=get longer, as it gets later in the day) Already the shadows were lengthening.adjectivesa dark/black shadow The dark shadows of the trees closed in on her.a long shadow A long shadow fell across the ground in front of me.flickering shadows (=shadows that move about quickly) Candles cast strange flickering shadows on the walls. noun | verb
shadowshadow2 verb [transitive] 1to follow someone closely in order to watch what he or she is doing: Detectives shadowed the two men for weeks.2to spend time with someone at work in order to learn about his or her job: The students spent a week shadowing attorneys and office staff.3[usually passive] to cover something with a shadow, or make it dark: His rugged face was shadowed by darkness.