Entry Word: shadow

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 a person whose business is solving crimes and catching criminals or gathering information that is not easy to get <having noticed that someone was following him, he ducked into an alley in an attempt to lose this unwanted shadow> — see detective
2 partial darkness due to the obstruction of light rays <the valley was in shadow> — see shade 1
3 shadows plurala time or place of little or no light <lurking in the shadows> — see dark 1
4 a tiny often physical indication of something lost or vanished <a run-down mansion that is only a shadow of its former glory> — see vestige
5 a very small amount <not even a shadow of a doubt about the defendantʼs guilt> — see particle 1
6 the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people <rumors of a shadow haunting the castle> — see ghost