shower

1
[ shou-er ]
See synonyms for shower on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a brief fall of rain or, sometimes, of hail or snow: An afternoon shower is forecast for tomorrow. This weekend they’re predicting freezing weather with scattered snow showers.

  2. Also called shower bath .

    • a bath in which water is sprayed on the body, usually from an overhead perforated nozzle (showerhead ):I took a quick shower before dinner.

    • the apparatus for this or the room or stall enclosing it: The shower is leaking.We have two bathrooms, but the downstairs one has only a shower and no tub.

  1. an abundant supply or quantity: I wish you and your family a shower of wealth, joy, health, and other blessings!

  2. a party at which gifts of a specific kind are given, as for a bride, prospective parent, someone moving house, or any other purpose: Excited by the prospect of a new campus infirmary, students and alumni held a linen shower to provide new sheets and towels.When he moved into his own apartment, we held a housewarming shower for him, giving him more kitchenware than one person could ever use.

  3. a fall of many objects, such as tears, sparks, things that are thrown, etc.: The couple walked out of the church under a shower of confetti.

  4. Astronomy. air shower.

  5. showers, a room or area equipped with several overhead perforated nozzles, sometimes in separate stalls, for use by a number of people bathing at the same time.

verb (used with object)
  1. to bestow liberally or lavishly: We showered good wishes and last-minute bits of advice on the departing hockey team.

  2. to deluge (a person) with gifts, favors, etc.: She was showered with gifts on her birthday.

  1. to bathe (oneself) with water sprayed on the body, usually from an overhead perforated nozzle: In the past 30 days the patient has been able to exercise, shower himself, toilet himself, and play a board game.

verb (used without object)
  1. to bathe with water sprayed on the body, usually from an overhead perforated nozzle: Do you prefer to shower in the morning or at bedtime?

  2. to rain briefly: During the final game on Saturday it showered for a couple of minutes, and then the sun came out again.

Idioms about shower

  1. hit the showers,

    • to go and take a shower (originally of a group bathing in a space with multiple overhead nozzles, as in a gym, school, locker room, etc.): The coach made us run one more lap before we hit the showers.After eight hours helping them move, I'm ready to hit the showers and go to bed.

    • Baseball. (of a pitcher) to be replaced in a game, usually because of ineffectiveness: He was throwing inconsistently and found himself hitting the showers before the fifth inning four times in two months.

    • to stop giving one’s full effort, as if the game or task were over: You don't hit the showers if you're up three touchdowns in the first quarter—you finish the game with the same intensity you started with.

  2. send to the showers, Baseball.

    • to replace (a pitcher) during a game, usually because they are ineffective: The coach sent him to the showers after he walked three batters in a row.

    • to cause (a pitcher) to be replaced in a game, as by getting many hits off them; knock out of the box: Two home runs and a line-drive double sent her to the showers.

Origin of shower

1
First recorded before 950; Middle English noun shouer, shour, shour(r)e Old English scūr, scūra; cognate with German Schauer, Old Norse skūr, Gothic skūra; verb derivative of the noun

Other words for shower

Other words from shower

  • show·er·less, adjective
  • show·er·like, adjective
  • un·show·ered, adjective
  • well-show·ered, adjective

Other definitions for shower (2 of 2)

shower2
[ shoh-er ]

noun
  1. a person or thing that shows.

Origin of shower

2
First recorded before 900; Middle English sheuer(e), shoure “watchman, overseer, teacher, guide” Old English scēawere, derivative of scēawian to show; see -er1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for shower (1 of 2)

shower1

/ (ˈʃaʊə) /


noun
  1. a brief period of rain, hail, sleet, or snow

  2. a sudden abundant fall or downpour, as of tears, sparks, or light

  1. a rush; outpouring: a shower of praise

    • a kind of bath in which a person stands upright and is sprayed with water from a nozzle

    • the room, booth, etc, containing such a bath: Full name: shower bath

  2. British slang a derogatory term applied to a person or group, esp to a group considered as being slack, untidy, etc

  3. US, Canadian, Australian and NZ a party held to honour and present gifts to a person, as to a prospective bride

  4. a large number of particles formed by the collision of a cosmic-ray particle with a particle in the atmosphere

  5. NZ a light fabric cover thrown over a tea table to protect the food from flies, dust, etc

verb
  1. (tr) to sprinkle or spray with or as if with a shower: shower the powder into the milk

  2. (often with it as subject) to fall or cause to fall in the form of a shower

  1. (tr) to give (gifts, etc) in abundance or present (a person) with (gifts, etc): they showered gifts on him

  2. (intr) to take a shower

Origin of shower

1
Old English scūr; related to Old Norse skūr, Old High German skūr shower, Latin caurus northwest wind

Derived forms of shower

  • showery, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for shower (2 of 2)

shower2

/ (ˈʃəʊə) /


noun
  1. a person or thing that shows

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with shower

shower

see cold shower.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.