adj

• (informal) Short, insufficient or less than.
  "By our count your shipment came up two shy of the bill of lading amount."
• (UK, US, politics, of a voter) Less likely to reveal whom they will vote for than average, chiefly in the context of the collective effect this has on polling accuracy.
  "Pollsters need to remember the shy Tory factor."

verb

• (intransitive) To avoid due to caution, embarrassment or timidness.
  "Courts might tend to shy from limiting Congress under such a vague standard."
• (intransitive) To jump back in fear.
  "The horse shied at the unexpected approach of a motor vehicle."
• (transitive) To throw sideways with a jerk; to fling.
  "to shy a stone"
• (Scotland, transitive, intransitive) To throw a ball with two hands above the head, especially when it has crossed the side lines in a football (soccer) match.

noun

• (Scotland, soccer) A throw-in from the sidelines, using two hands above the head.
• (Scotland) In shinty, the act of tossing the ball above the head and hitting it with the shaft of the caman to bring it back into play after it has been hit out of the field.
• (archaic) A gibe; a sneer.