Definitions for shadow
ˈʃæd oʊshad·ow

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. shadow(noun)

   shade within clear boundaries

2. darkness, dark, shadow(noun)

   an unilluminated area

   "he moved off into the darkness"

3. apparition, phantom, phantasm, phantasma, fantasm, shadow(noun)

   something existing in perception only

   "a ghostly apparition at midnight"

4. shadow(noun)

   a premonition of something adverse

   "a shadow over his happiness"

5. trace, vestige, tincture, shadow(noun)

   an indication that something has been present

   "there wasn't a trace of evidence for the claim"; "a tincture of condescension"

6. shadow(noun)

   refuge from danger or observation

   "he felt secure in his father's shadow"

7. shadow(noun)

   a dominating and pervasive presence

   "he received little recognition working in the shadow of his father"

8. tail, shadow, shadower(noun)

   a spy employed to follow someone and report their movements

9. shadow(verb)

   an inseparable companion

   "the poor child was his mother's shadow"

10. shadow(verb)

    follow, usually without the person's knowledge

    "The police are shadowing her"

11. shadow, shade, shade off(verb)

    cast a shadow over

12. shadow, overshadow, dwarf(verb)

    make appear small by comparison

    "This year's debt dwarfs that of last year"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. shadow(Noun)

   A dark image projected onto a surface where light is blocked by the shade of an object.

   My shadow lengthened as the sun began to set.

   Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).

2. shadow(Noun)

   Relative darkness, especially as caused by the interruption of light; gloom, obscurity.

   I immediately jumped into shadow as I saw them approach.

   Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).

3. shadow(Noun)

   That which looms as though a shadow.

   Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).

4. shadow(Noun)

   Merely a hint of substance.

   Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).

5. shadow(Noun)

   One who secretly or furtively follows another.

   The constable was promoted to working as a shadow for the Royals.

   Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).

6. shadow(Noun)

   A type of lettering form of word processors that makes a cubic effect.

   Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).

7. shadow(Noun)

   An influence, especially a pervasive or a negative one.

   Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).

8. shadow(Verb)

   To block light or radio transmission.

   Looks like that cloud's going to shadow us.

   Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).

9. shadow(Verb)

   To secretly or discreetly track or follow another, to keep under surveillance.

   Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).

10. shadow(Verb)

    To make an identifier, usually a variable, inaccessible by declaring another of the same name within the scope of the first.

    Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Shadow(noun)

   shade within defined limits; obscurity or deprivation of light, apparent on a surface, and representing the form of the body which intercepts the rays of light; as, the shadow of a man, of a tree, or of a tower. See the Note under Shade, n., 1

   Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

2. Shadow(noun)

   darkness; shade; obscurity

   Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

3. Shadow(noun)

   a shaded place; shelter; protection; security

   Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

4. Shadow(noun)

   a reflected image, as in a mirror or in water

   Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

5. Shadow(noun)

   that which follows or attends a person or thing like a shadow; an inseparable companion; hence, an obsequious follower

   Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

6. Shadow(noun)

   a spirit; a ghost; a shade; a phantom

   Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

7. Shadow(noun)

   an imperfect and faint representation; adumbration; indistinct image; dim bodying forth; hence, mystical representation; type

   Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

8. Shadow(noun)

   a small degree; a shade

   Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

9. Shadow(noun)

   an uninvited guest coming with one who is invited

   Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

10. Shadow(noun)

    to cut off light from; to put in shade; to shade; to throw a shadow upon; to overspead with obscurity

    Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

11. Shadow(noun)

    to conceal; to hide; to screen

    Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

12. Shadow(noun)

    to protect; to shelter from danger; to shroud

    Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

13. Shadow(noun)

    to mark with gradations of light or color; to shade

    Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

14. Shadow(noun)

    to represent faintly or imperfectly; to adumbrate; hence, to represent typically

    Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

15. Shadow(noun)

    to cloud; to darken; to cast a gloom over

    Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

16. Shadow(noun)

    to attend as closely as a shadow; to follow and watch closely, especially in a secret or unobserved manner; as, a detective shadows a criminal

    Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Shadow

   A shadow is an area where direct light from a light source cannot reach due to obstruction by an object. It occupies all of the space behind an opaque object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, or reverse projection of the object blocking the light. The sun causes many objects to have shadows and at certain times of the day, when the sun is at certain heights, the lengths of shadows change. An astronomical object casts human-visible shadows when its apparent magnitude is equal or lower than −4. Currently the only astronomical objects able to produce visible shadows on Earth are the sun, the moon and, in the right conditions, Venus or Jupiter.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Shadow

   shad′ō, n. shade caused by an object: darkness: shelter: security: favour: the dark part of a picture: an inseparable companion: a mystical representation: faint appearance: a ghost, spirit: something only in appearance.—v.t to shade: to cloud or darken: to shade, as a painting: to represent faintly: to hide, conceal: (coll.) to attend like a shadow, watch continuously and carefully.—ns. Shad′ow-fig′ure, a silhouette; Shad′owiness, the state of being shadowy or unsubstantial; Shad′owing, shading: gradation of light and colour.—adj. Shad′owless.—n. Shad′ow-stitch, in lace-making, a very delicate kind of ladder-stitch used in fine open-work.—adj. Shad′owy, full of shadow: dark: obscure: typical: unsubstantial: (rare) indulging in fancies.—Shadow of death, approach of death: terrible disaster. [A.S. sceadu; cog. with Old High Ger. scato, and perh. Gr. skotos, darkness, skia, shadow.]

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. shadow

   Song lyrics by shadow -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by shadow on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'shadow' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3274

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'shadow' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4458

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'shadow' in Nouns Frequency: #1009

How to pronounce shadow?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say shadow in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of shadow in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of shadow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of shadow in a Sentence

1. Democritus:

   Word is a shadow of a deed.

2. C. S. Lewis:

   Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery's shadow or reflection: the fact that you don't merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.

3. Stephen Namara:

   In regards to my work, I am trying to create atmospheres. I am, perhaps, not so much interested in the questions of details but on the way that the light is absorbed or reflected by the surface. I employ the tension of light and shadow to heighten the suggestion of spiritual qualities, much like the Spanish Realists of the seventeenth century. And always I am trying to reflect the present. For the present contains the memory of the past, even though the painting is the result of an extensive span.

4. Germaine Greer:

   Maybe I couldn't make it. Maybe I don't have a pretty smile, good teeth, nice tits, long legs, a cheeky ass, a sexy voice. Maybe I don't know how to handle men and increase my market value, so that the rewards due to the feminine will accrue to me. Then again, maybe I'm sick of the masquerade. I'm sick of pretending eternal youth. I'm sick of belying my own intelligence, my own will, my own sex. I'm sick of peering at the world through false eyelashes, so everything I see is mixed with a shadow of bought hairs; I'm sick of weighting my head with a dead mane, unable to move my neck freely, terrified of rain, of wind, of dancing too vigorously in case I sweat into my lacquered curls. I'm sick of the Powder Room. I'm sick of pretending that some fatuous male's self-important pronouncements are the objects of my undivided attention, I'm sick of going to films and plays when someone else wants to, and sick of having no opinions of my own about either. I'm sick of being a transvestite. I refuse to be a female impersonator. I am a woman, not a castrate.

5. Alexander Pope, Essay on Man:

   Envy will merit, as its shade, pursue, But, like the shadow, proves the substance true.

Images & Illustrations of shadow

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