From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishshadowshad‧ow1 /ˈʃædəʊ $ -doʊ/ ●●● S3 W2 noun 1 dark shape [countable]DARK the dark shape that someone or something makes on a surface when they are between that surface and the light the long dark shadow of an old oak treein the shadow of something It was hot, and we decided to walk in the shadow of the wall (=along the wall, where its shadow would fall).2 darkness [uncountable] (also shadows [plural])DARK darkness caused by something preventing light from reaching a placein shadow The room was half in shadow.in the shadows In the shadows, something moved.3 bad effect/influence [singular] the bad effect or influence that something has, which makes other things seem less enjoyable, attractive, or impressivein/under the shadow of something For years, people had been living under the shadow of communism.cast a shadow over/on something (=make something seem less enjoyable, attractive, or impressive) The events of September 11th cast a shadow over the celebrations.4 → without/beyond a shadow of a doubt5 → in somebody’s shadow6 → be a shadow of your former self7 → shadows under your eyes8 → somebody’s shadow9 → afraid/frightened/scared etc of your own 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 shadowShe saw the dark shadow of a man in the doorway.a long shadowLong shadows stretched across the grass from the apple trees.flickering shadows (=shadows that move about quickly)Candles cast strange flickering shadows on the walls.
Examples from the Corpus
shadow• Just then, a dark shadow emerged from the mist.• I remember these figures illuminated from behind, like giant shadows.• As we walked along, our shadows lengthened with the setting sun.• We can not jump off our own shadows.• The short shadows of the doorways were filled all day with people snapping their newspapers.• More solemn shadows flared as he lit his pipe, the sound of the drawing air strained and high.• It was not that I expected some one to hurt me or that I thought there were dangerous things lurking in the shadows.• In the shadows and its gentle movement I believe I see the firelight which constrains and defines the Masai night.• A monk in saffron robes steps out of the shadows to stand beside us.in the shadow of something• And in the shadow of events yet to be.• It was also said that a person could walk for three days in the shadow of the Tower without ever leaving it.• He was lying face downwards in the shadow of the short diving-board, fully dressed in a blazer and white linen trousers.• We know only the pain of the also-ran, for ever in the shadow of the siren.• Described by one resident as a rough area, Walton village lies in the shadow of both Everton and Liverpool football clubs.• Families living in the shadow of the nation's largest nuclear power plant are concerned.• Gallows loomed in the shadows of her dreams and dead babies and famine, and a blonde woman with sly green eyes.• Slaughter and torture declared by judges as the law lurk in the shadows of our history.• And right in the shadow of Tomorrowland.in shadow• The room was half in shadow. in/under the shadow of something• It was only then that she saw Sandra, standing concealed in the shadow of the eaves.• But Khatm just huddles in the shadow of the Nawab's palace.• I liked to linger in the shadow of a pine green corridor.• The murderers parked in the shadows of a tree.• In a world that was still under the shadow of Malthus, he could hardly propose adding more people.• When Amelia first saw the Fokker, it was in the shadows of its East Boston hangar.• I could see her now that my eyes were in the shadow of a branch.shadowshadow2 verb [transitive] 1 FOLLOWto follow someone closely in order to watch what they are doing Detectives shadowed him for weeks.2 literaryDARK to cover something with a shadow, or make it dark a narrow street which was shadowed by a huge Catholic churchGrammar Shadow is usually passive in this meaning.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
shadow• The latter ranges from job shadowing and community service to paid career internships.• Several students spent a week in the office, shadowing attorneys and office staff.• At that rugged face, shadowed by darkness, into the unearthly blue of his eyes.• The module will pass over several of the moon's permanently shadowed craters.• I nodded my head, watching the shadowed figures gesturing, belching in hunger, nodding heads, tippling bottles.• Consumed with jealousy, he shadowed her for three days, hoping to catch her with her lover.• Sheer terror shadowed her indented eyes, and yet never would she be caught.• I want you to shadow him for the next three days and find out who he hangs out with.• In all the shadowed places there was snow.• Although sullen opposition and private anger still shadows the Communist Party, no disturbances were reported during yesterday's events.• The sun set alight the water drops that speckled their leaves and shadowed the ground beneath them.• Detectives shadowed them for weeks, collecting evidence.shadowshadow3 adjective [only before noun] 1 → Shadow Chancellor/Foreign Secretary etc2 → Shadow CabinetFrom Longman Business Dictionaryshadowshad‧ow /ˈʃædəʊ-doʊ/ verb [transitive]1to watch someone very closely or work with them in order to learn how they do their jobThe managers were shadowed by trainees in the bank’s development programme.2to change at the same rate or in the same way as somethingIn London, share prices shadowed Wall Street’s, to close midway.Gloomy news in the technology sector was shadowed by smaller electronics stocks.→ See Verb tableOrigin shadow1 Old English sceaduw-, stem of sceadu; → SHADE1 