shimmer •\ˈshi-mər\• verb and noun verb: shine with a weak or fitful light verb: give off a lightly shining reflection, as of silk noun: a weak and tremulous light The word shimmer has appeared in 82 New York Times articles in the past year, including on Sept. 26 in the round-up of reviews entitled "Newly Released Books" by Susannah Meadows: Like any word whose shimmer has dulled from overuse, Paris can seem like a cliché in itself. Perhaps it's even a cliché to say that Paris is a cliché. This novel's clunker of a title is also problematic. But early on Patricia Engel, whose debut was her story collection, "Vida," shows that her writing can still be original... Learn more about the word "shimmer" and see usage examples across a range of subjects on the Vocabulary dictionary.