From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englisha shadea shadeformalLITTLE/NOT VERY very slightlya shade too big/hot/fast etc Matt’s clothes were just a shade too big for me.a shade better/quicker/faster etc The results were a shade better than we expected.a shade over/under/above etc She was a shade under five feet tall. → shade
Examples from the Corpus
a shade better/quicker/faster etc• She was no feather-weight, but even the stairs only made him breathe a shade faster.• As a result, our days sometimes go by a shade quicker than twenty-four hours. 