What does shadow mean?
Definitions for shadow
ˈʃæd oʊshad·ow
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word shadow.
Princeton's WordNet
shadow(noun)
shade within clear boundaries
darkness, dark, shadow(noun)
an unilluminated area
"he moved off into the darkness"
apparition, phantom, phantasm, phantasma, fantasm, shadow(noun)
something existing in perception only
"a ghostly apparition at midnight"
shadow(noun)
a premonition of something adverse
"a shadow over his happiness"
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"
shadow(noun)
refuge from danger or observation
"he felt secure in his father's shadow"
shadow(noun)
a dominating and pervasive presence
"he received little recognition working in the shadow of his father"
tail, shadow, shadower(noun)
a spy employed to follow someone and report their movements
shadow(verb)
an inseparable companion
"the poor child was his mother's shadow"
shadow(verb)
follow, usually without the person's knowledge
"The police are shadowing her"
shadow, shade, shade off(verb)
cast a shadow over
shadow, overshadow, dwarf(verb)
make appear small by comparison
"This year's debt dwarfs that of last year"
Wiktionary
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).
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).
shadow(Noun)
That which looms as though a shadow.
Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).
shadow(Noun)
Merely a hint of substance.
Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).
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).
shadow(Noun)
A type of lettering form of word processors that makes a cubic effect.
Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).
shadow(Noun)
An influence, especially a pervasive or a negative one.
Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).
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).
shadow(Verb)
To secretly or discreetly track or follow another, to keep under surveillance.
Etymology: sceaduwe, inflected form of sceadu ( > English shade).
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
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.]
Shadow(noun)
darkness; shade; obscurity
Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]
Shadow(noun)
a shaded place; shelter; protection; security
Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]
Shadow(noun)
a reflected image, as in a mirror or in water
Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]
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.]
Shadow(noun)
a spirit; a ghost; a shade; a phantom
Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]
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.]
Shadow(noun)
a small degree; a shade
Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]
Shadow(noun)
an uninvited guest coming with one who is invited
Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]
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.]
Shadow(noun)
to conceal; to hide; to screen
Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]
Shadow(noun)
to protect; to shelter from danger; to shroud
Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]
Shadow(noun)
to mark with gradations of light or color; to shade
Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]
Shadow(noun)
to represent faintly or imperfectly; to adumbrate; hence, to represent typically
Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]
Shadow(noun)
to cloud; to darken; to cast a gloom over
Etymology: [Originally the same word as shade. 162. See Shade.]
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
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
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
shadow
Song lyrics by shadow -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by shadow on the Lyrics.com website.
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'shadow' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3274
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'shadow' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4458
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'shadow' in Nouns Frequency: #1009
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of shadow in Chaldean Numerology is: 8
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of shadow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7
Examples of shadow in a Sentence
Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.
Ours is a precarious language, as every writer knows, in which the merest shadow line often separates affirmation from negation, sense from nonsense, and one sex from the other.
Beware of a man's shadow and a bee's sting.
The clever cannot catch the genius; such an attempt is just an act of trying to catch the shadow of a flying bird!
He was my best friend, my brother and my shadow, and when it was show time, it was amazing. He made millions and millions of people smile throughout the world, he was a little 60-pound (27.2 kg) butterball of inspiration for a lot of people.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for shadow
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- skaduweeAfrikaans
- sombra, huembraAragonese
- ظلArabic
- kölgəAzerbaijani
- күләгәBashkir
- ценьBelarusian
- преследвач, сянкаBulgarian
- ছায়া, শ্যাডোBengali
- skeudBreton
- ombraCatalan, Valencian
- stín, stínit, sledovatCzech
- cysgodWelsh
- skyggeDanish
- Schatten, beschattenGerman
- επισκιάζω, σκιά, σκιάζω, παρακολουθώ, γίνομαι σκιάGreek
- gvatsekvi, ombroEsperanto
- sombraSpanish
- variEstonian
- itzal, errainu, ilununeBasque
- سایهPersian
- varjo, varjostaa, varjostaja, varjostusFinnish
- skuggiFaroese
- ombre, prendre en filature, filerFrench
- skaadWestern Frisian
- scáthIrish
- sgàile, faileas, dubharScottish Gaelic
- sombraGalician
- પડછાયોGujarati
- scaa, scadooManx
- צלHebrew
- छाया, परछाई, सायाHindi
- lonbrajHaitian Creole
- árny, árnyékHungarian
- շուք, ստվերArmenian
- umbraInterlingua
- bayanganIndonesian
- ombroIdo
- skuggiIcelandic
- ombraItalian
- צֵלHebrew
- 影, 影付き, 日陰, 陰影Japanese
- აჩრდილი, ჩრდილიGeorgian
- көлеңкеKazakh
- ស្រមោលKhmer
- ನೆರಳುKannada
- 그늘, 응달, 그림자Korean
- umbra, umbra,Latin
- ຮົ່ມເງົາ, ເງົາ, ຮົ່ມLao
- šešėlisLithuanian
- ēnaLatvian
- àlokaMalagasy
- whakamomoka, ātārangiMāori
- сенкаMacedonian
- bayangMalay
- dellMaltese
- ဆာယာBurmese
- schaduwDutch
- skyggeNorwegian
- chahaʼoh, chahashʼohNavajo, Navaho
- ombraOccitan
- ਪਰਛਾਂਵਾਂPanjabi, Punjabi
- cieńPolish
- sombra, sombreadoPortuguese
- sumbreiva, sumbriva, umbrivaRomansh
- umbrăRomanian
- тень, шпикRussian
- छायाSanskrit
- umbra, umbara, urmaSardinian
- сенка, sjenka, сјенка, senka, sena, сена, sjena, сјенаSerbo-Croatian
- tôňa, tieňSlovak
- sencaSlovene
- hijeAlbanian
- skuggaSwedish
- நிழல்Tamil
- నీడTelugu
- เงามัว, เงามืดThai
- aninoTagalog
- gölge, gTurkish
- тіньUkrainian
- چھایا, سایہ, سائےUrdu
- bóng, bóng tốiVietnamese
- שאָטןYiddish
- 阴影Chinese
Get even more translations for shadow »
Translation
Find a translation for the shadow definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
"shadow." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2021. Web. 25 Feb. 2021. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/shadow>.