Definition of shade
1a : comparative darkness or obscurity owing to interception of the rays of lightb : relative obscurity or retirement
2a : shelter (as by foliage) from the heat and glare of sunlightb : a place sheltered from the sun
3 : an evanescent or unreal appearance
4 shades plural a : the shadows that gather as darkness comes onb : netherworld, hades
5a : a disembodied spirit : ghostb —used to signal the similarity between a previously encountered person or situation and one at hand ; usually used in plural shades of my childhood
6 : something that intercepts or shelters from light, sun, or heat: such asa : a device partially covering a lamp so as to reduce glareb : a flexible screen usually mounted on a roller for regulating the light or the view through a windowc shades plural : sunglasses
7a : the reproduction of the effect of shade in painting or drawingb : a subdued or somber feature
8a : a color produced by a pigment or dye mixture having some black in itb : a color slightly different from the one under consideration
throw shade
US slang
From the M-W Editors
Examples of shade in a Sentence
The buildings cast shade on the plaza.
The tree provided plenty of shade.
These plants grow well in shade.
It was a hot sunny day, but luckily their seats for the game were in the shade.
We sat in the shade of a willow tree.
He used his hand as a shade as he looked out into the bright sunlight.
a lamp with a broken shade
She pulled down the shades.
She was wearing a cool pair of shades.
Origin and Etymology of shade
Middle English, from Old English sceadu; akin to Old High German scato shadow, Greek skotos darkness
First Known Use: before 12th century
shade
Definition of shade
shaded
;shading
transitive verb
1a : to shelter or screen by intercepting radiated light or heatb : to cover with a shade
2 : to hide partly by or as if by a shadow
3 : to darken with or as if with a shadow
4 : to better or exceed by a shade
5a : to represent the effect of shade or shadow onb : to add shading toc : to color so that the shades pass gradually from one to another
6 : to change by gradual transition or qualification
7 : to reduce slightly shade a price
intransitive verb
shader
nounExamples of shade in a Sentence
Several large trees shade the house.
She shaded the drawing to give it depth.
The shaded part of the graph represents the amount of sales.
The article shaded the truth by revealing only one side of the story.
14th Century
First Known Use of shade
14th century
SHADE Defined for English Language Learners
shade
playDefinition of shade for English Language Learners
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: an area of slight darkness that is produced when something blocks the light of the sun
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: something that is used to block strong light
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: a darkened area in a drawing, painting, etc.
shade
Definition of shade for English Language Learners
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: to shelter (something) from strong light and especially from sunlight
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: to make an area in a drawing, on a graph, etc., darker than other areas
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: to change (something, such as the truth) slightly in order to deceive people
SHADE Defined for Kids
Definition of shade for Students
1 : space sheltered from light or heat and especially from the sun I needed to sit in the shade of a tree.
2 : partial darkness The trees cast shade.
3 : something that blocks off or cuts down light a lamp shade a window shade
4 : the darkness or lightness of a color four shades of brown
5 : a very small difference or amount He's just a shade taller than me.
7 : the darkening of some objects in a painting or drawing to suggest that they are in shade
Definition of shade for Students
shaded
;shading
1 : to shelter from light or heat I shaded my eyes with a hand.
2 : to mark with or turn a darker color The shaded parts of the graph show growth. Her face shaded purple with embarrassment.
Learn More about shade
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See words that rhyme with shade Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for shade Spanish Central: Translation of shade Nglish: Translation of shade for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of shade for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shade
Seen and Heard
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