1
: one that shines
2
: a silvery fish
especially
: any of numerous small freshwater American cyprinid fishes (especially genus Notropis) compare golden shiner
Examples of shiner in a Sentence
He got a shiner during a fight at school.
Recent Examples on the Web
The skyway-level business ecosystem that emerged during the 1980s was one of lunch counters and copy shops and services like shoe-shiners, tailors, barbers, jewelers and others looking to be convenient errands, not weekend shopping destinations.
—
Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2026
On May 30, 1921, a young Black man named Dick Rowland, a shoe shiner, ended up in an elevator in Tulsa's Drexel Building with a White woman named Sarah Page, en route to the bathroom.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 25 Nov. 2025
How the massacre unfolded The events leading up to the massacre began on May 30, 1921, when Dick Rowland, a 19-year-old Black shoe shiner, ran from an elevator in a downtown building after the elevator’s teen operator let out a scream.
—Omar Jimenez, CNN Money, 24 Nov. 2025
Josh notices Oliver icing his eye and comments on the shiner.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shiner
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Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2026
On May 30, 1921, a young Black man named Dick Rowland, a shoe shiner, ended up in an elevator in Tulsa's Drexel Building with a White woman named Sarah Page, en route to the bathroom.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 25 Nov. 2025
How the massacre unfolded The events leading up to the massacre began on May 30, 1921, when Dick Rowland, a 19-year-old Black shoe shiner, ran from an elevator in a downtown building after the elevator’s teen operator let out a scream.
—Omar Jimenez, CNN Money, 24 Nov. 2025
Josh notices Oliver icing his eye and comments on the shiner.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shiner
Cite this Entry
“Shiner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shiner. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.
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