shadow

n. a dark shape on a surface that happens when an object blocks the light.

n. a dark area or shape produced by an object coming between rays of light and a surface.

“The tall trees cast long shadows across the grass as the sun went down.”

“The cyclist noticed his own shadow stretching far ahead of him on the pavement during the late afternoon ride.”

n. a very small amount of something.

n. the slightest trace or a very small degree of a quality or feeling.

“There was not a shadow of a doubt that he was telling the truth.”

“The prosecutor argued that there was not a shadow of evidence to support the defendant's alibi for the night in question.”

n. a feeling of sadness or a bad influence that spoils a situation.

n. an unhappy or gloomy influence that diminishes the quality of an event or period of time.

“The news of the accident cast a shadow over the whole party.”

“The sudden economic downturn cast a long shadow over the administration's otherwise successful first year in office.”

v. to follow someone closely and secretly to watch where they go.

v. to follow and observe someone closely and typically secretly.

“The private detective shadowed the suspect for three days.”

“Intelligence officers shadowed the diplomat throughout the conference, documenting every unofficial meeting he attended.”

v. to follow someone at their job to learn how to do it.

v. to accompany a person during their work day to gain experience or understanding of a profession.

“The medical student spent the week shadowing a senior surgeon.”

“New recruits are required to shadow an experienced manager for a month before they are allowed to handle client accounts independently.”

adj. describing a group of politicians in the opposition who act like the real government.

adj. relating to the main opposition party's counterparts to the government's cabinet ministers.

“The shadow health minister criticised the government's new hospital plan.”

“The Shadow Cabinet met early this morning to draft a formal response to the Chancellor's latest budget proposal.”

British English · Formal

v. to hide a piece of data by using the same name for a new one.

v. to make an identifier inaccessible by declaring another with the same name in a more local scope.

“Be careful not to shadow the global variable inside your function.”

“The compiler issued a warning because the local variable shadowed a field in the outer class, potentially leading to logic errors.”

Technical