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shadow

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shadow¹

  • /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ UK
  • [ˈʃʰædəʊ̯] UK
  • /ˈʃædɵʊ̯/ UK
  • [ˈʃʰædɵ̞ʊ̯] UK
  • /ˈʃadəw/ British, Southern, Standard
  • [ˈʃadɜʉ] British, Southern, Standard
  • /ˈʃædoʊ̯/ US
  • [ˈʃʰædoʊ̯] US
  • [ˈʃʰædɔʊ̯] US
  • [ˈʃʰæɾoʊ̯] US
  • [ˈʃʰæɾɔʊ̯] US
  • [ˈʃado] Canada
  • [ˈʃadou] Canada
  • [ˈʃadɔ] Canada
  • [ˈɕa-] Canada
  • [ˈɕɑ-] Canada
  • [-dɵ] Canada
  • /ˈʃædəʉ̯/ Australia
  • [ˈʃʰædəʉ̯] Australia
  • [ˈʃædɐ̝ʉ̯] Australia
  • [ˈʃʰæɾəʉ̯] Australia
  • [ˈʃæɾɐ̝ʉ̯] Australia
  • [ˈʃʰɛdɘ̞ʉ̯] New Zealand
  • [ˈʃʰɛdɐ̝ʉ̯] New Zealand
  • [ˈʃʰɛɾɘ̞ʉ̯] New Zealand
  • [ˈʃʰɛɾɐ̝ʉ̯] New Zealand

Rhymes with -ædəʊ

Where it comes from

From Middle English schadowe, schadewe, schadwe (also schade > shade), from Old English sċeaduwe, sċeadwe, oblique form of sċeadu (“shadow, shade; darkness; protection”), from Proto-West Germanic *skadu, from Proto-Germanic *skaduz (“shade, shadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- (“darkness”). Doublet of shade.

Cognates

Cognate with Scots shedda (“shadow”), Saterland Frisian Skaad, Skade (“shade, shadow”), West Frisian skaad, skâd (“shade, shadow”), Central Franconian and Limburgish Schatte (“shadow”), Dutch schade, schaduw (“shadow”), German Schatten (“shade, shadow”), German Low German Scharr, Scharre (“shade, shadow”), Luxembourgish Schiet (“shade, shadow”), Vilamovian siota (“shadow”), Yiddish שאָטן (shotn, “shadow”), Faroese skadda (“thick wet mountain fog”), Icelandic skodda, skoddi (“shadow”), Norwegian Bokmål skodde (“fog, mist”), Norwegian Nynorsk skodde, skåddj, skåidd (“fog; ice fog”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌳𐌿𐍃 (skadus, “shadow”); also Breton skeud (“shadow; reflection; ghost”), Cornish skeus (“shadow; reflection”), Irish scáth (“shadow”), Manx scaa, skæ (“shield; shade, shadow”), Scottish Gaelic sgàth (“shade, shadow”), Latin obscurus (“dark, dusky, shadowy”), Ancient Greek σκότος (skótos, “darkness, gloom”) (whence English scoto-), Belarusian сівы́ (sivý, “grey”), Czech and Slovak sivý (“grey”), Macedonian осој (osoj, “shady place”), Polish siwy (“grey”), Russian си́вый (sívyj, “grey”), Serbo-Croatian сив, siv (“grey”), Slovene osoja (“shady place”), Ukrainian си́вий (sývyj, “grey”), Armenian սեաւ (seaw), սեւ (sew, “black”), Ossetian сау (saw, “black”), Persian سه (sah), سیه (siyah), سیاه (siyâh, “black”), Sanskrit श्याम (śyāma, “black”), श्याव (śyāva, “dark”).

noun shadows

  1. countable, uncountable A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. My shadow lengthened as the sun began to set.
  2. countable, uncountable Relative darkness, especially as caused by the interruption of light; gloom; obscurity. I immediately jumped into shadow as I saw them approach.
  3. countable, uncountable An area protected by an obstacle (likened to an object blocking out sunlight). The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems and cast a "shadow" of dryness behind them.
  4. countable, obsolete, poetic, uncountable A reflected image, as in a mirror or in water. Some there be that ſhadowes kiſſe, / Such haue but a ſhadowes bliſſe.
  5. countable, figuratively, uncountable That which looms as though a shadow. I lived in her shadow my whole life.
  6. countable, uncountable, in the negative A small degree; a shade. He did not give even a shadow of respect to the professor.
  7. countable, uncountable An imperfect and faint representation. He came back from war the shadow of a man.
  8. UK, countable, uncountable A trainee, assigned to work with an experienced officer.
  9. countable, uncountable One who secretly or furtively follows another. The constable was promoted to working as a shadow for the Royals.
  10. countable, uncountable An inseparable companion.
  11. countable, uncountable A drop shadow effect applied to lettering in word processors etc.
  12. countable, uncountable An influence, especially a pervasive or a negative one. Men see the institution and worship it. It is only the lengthened shadow of one man.[…]The Reformation is the shadow of Luther: Quakerism of Fox: Methodism of Wesley: Abolition of Clarkson.
  13. countable, uncountable A spirit; a ghost; a shade. The Baby of a Girle. Hence horrible ſhadow,
  14. Latinism, countable, obsolete, uncountable An uninvited guest accompanying one who was invited. I muſt not haue my boord peſter'd with ſhadowes, / That under other mens protection breake in / Without invitement.

    Similar: umbra

  15. countable, uncountable An unconscious aspect of the personality. In a paper he wrote in 1939, Jung compared the shadow to Freud's concept of the unconscious.

adjective more shadow · most shadow

  1. Unofficial, informal, unauthorized, but acting as though it were. The human resources department has a shadow information technology group without headquarters knowledge.
  2. Having power or influence, but not widely known or recognized. The director has been giving shadow leadership to the other group's project to ensure its success.
  3. Commonwealth Part of, or related to, the opposition in government.
  4. US Acting in a leadership role before being formally recognized. The shadow cabinet cannot agree on the terms of the agreement due immediately after they are sworn in.

shadow²

  • /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ UK
  • [ˈʃʰædəʊ̯] UK
  • /ˈʃædɵʊ̯/ UK
  • [ˈʃʰædɵ̞ʊ̯] UK
  • /ˈʃadəw/ British, Southern, Standard
  • [ˈʃadɜʉ] British, Southern, Standard
  • /ˈʃædoʊ̯/ US
  • [ˈʃʰædoʊ̯] US
  • [ˈʃʰædɔʊ̯] US
  • [ˈʃʰæɾoʊ̯] US
  • [ˈʃʰæɾɔʊ̯] US
  • [ˈʃado] Canada
  • [ˈʃadou] Canada
  • [ˈʃadɔ] Canada
  • [ˈɕa-] Canada
  • [ˈɕɑ-] Canada
  • [-dɵ] Canada
  • /ˈʃædəʉ̯/ Australia
  • [ˈʃʰædəʉ̯] Australia
  • [ˈʃædɐ̝ʉ̯] Australia
  • [ˈʃʰæɾəʉ̯] Australia
  • [ˈʃæɾɐ̝ʉ̯] Australia
  • [ˈʃʰɛdɘ̞ʉ̯] New Zealand
  • [ˈʃʰɛdɐ̝ʉ̯] New Zealand
  • [ˈʃʰɛɾɘ̞ʉ̯] New Zealand
  • [ˈʃʰɛɾɐ̝ʉ̯] New Zealand

Rhymes with -ædəʊ

Where it comes from

From Middle English schadowen, from Old English sċeadwian, from sċeadu (“shadow; shade”) + -ian (suffix forming verbs).

verb shadows · shadowing · shadowed

  1. transitive To shade, cloud, or darken. The artist chose to shadow this corner of the painting.
  2. transitive To block light or radio transmission from. Looks like that cloud's going to shadow us.
  3. To secretly or discreetly track or follow another, to keep under surveillance. Soon after departure, we cross the invisible border into Scotland to enjoy more stunning coastal scenery, before the line finally swings inland at Burnmouth to traverse pine-clad valleys, shadowed by the A1 trunk road until we rejoin the coast at Cove, east of Dunbar.
  4. transitive To represent faintly and imperfectly. Ah, ye admonitions and warnings! why stay ye not when ye come? But rather are ye predictions than warnings, ye shadows!
  5. transitive To hide; to conceal.
  6. intransitive, transitive To accompany (a professional) during the working day, so as to learn about an occupation one intends to take up. In most cases, interns have mainly observed, or “shadowed,” their Hands-On hosts, but some interns have been given real tasks to perform, […]
  7. transitive To make (an identifier, usually a variable) inaccessible by declaring another of the same name within the scope of the first. In this snippet, inside the for loop the a and b variables shadow variables from the outer scope, and while legal, this is almost certainly a programming error.
  8. transitive To apply the shadowing process to (the contents of ROM).

Shadow³

proper noun

  1. A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: trace, apparition, phantom, vestige, overshadow, dwarf, shade, dark, darkness, tail, shade off, silhouette, spotlight, light, sunlight, side

Translations

Every language

noun dark image projected onto a surface

Españolsombra
한국어그림자 geurimja, 음영 eumyeong
日本語影 kage, 陰影 in'ei, 日陰 hikage
中文陰影 /阴影 yīnyǐng, 影子 yǐngzi
हिन्दीपरछाई parchāī, छाया chāyā, साया sāyā, छाँव chā̃v
Kiswahiliuvuli
Portuguêssombra
Françaisombre
DeutschSchatten
Italianoombra
Ελληνικάσκιά skiá, ίσκιος ískios
Românăumbră
Русскийтень tenʹ
Tiếng Việtbóng, bóng tối
العربيةظِلّ ẓill, خَيَال ḵayāl
עבריתצֵל tzel

noun relative darkness

한국어그늘 geuneul, 응달 eungdal
日本語影 kage
Portuguêssombras, penumbra
Françaisombre
Ελληνικάσκιά skiá
Русскийтень tenʹ, полумра́к polumrák

noun that which looms as though a shadow

Portuguêsvulto

noun one who secretly or furtively follows another

日本語尾行者 bikōsha
Portuguêssombra
Ελληνικάσκιά skiá
Русскийшпик špik, пресле́дователь preslédovatelʹ, пресле́довательница preslédovatelʹnica

noun typographic effect

日本語影付き kagetsuki
Portuguêssombreado
Ελληνικάσκιά skiá

verb to block light or radio transmission

Portuguêssombrear
Deutschbeschatten
Ελληνικάεπισκιάζω episkiázo, σκιάζω skiázo

verb to secretly track or follow another

日本語尾行する bikō suru
Françaisprendre en filature, filer
Deutschbeschatten
Italianopedinare
Ελληνικάπαρακολουθώ parakolouthó, γίνομαι σκιά gínomai skiá

verb to accompany a professional in order to learn — see also observe

Españolver cómo trabaja, aprender imitando
中文见学

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"shadow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shadow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

shadow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shadow

Chicago

"shadow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shadow.

BibTeX
@misc{shadow_2026,
  title = {shadow},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shadow},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}