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shallow

 - 4 dictionary results

shal⋅low

  [shal-oh] adjective, -er, -est, noun, adverb, verb
Use shallow in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of little depth; not deep: shallow water.
2. lacking depth; superficial: a mind that is not narrow but shallow.
3. taking in a relatively small amount of air in each inhalation: shallow breathing.
4. Baseball. relatively close to home plate: The shortstop caught the pop fly in shallow left field.
–noun
5. Usually, shallows. (used with a singular or plural verb) a shallow part of a body of water; shoal.
–adverb
6. Baseball. at a shallow position: With the pitcher up, the outfielders played shallow.
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
7. to make or become shallow.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME schalowe (adj.); akin to OE sceald shallow (see shoal 1 )

Related forms:
shal⋅low⋅ly, adverb
shal⋅low⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To shallow
shal·low   (shāl'ō)   
adj.   shal·low·er, shal·low·est

  1. Measuring little from bottom to top or surface; lacking physical depth.

  2. Lacking depth of intellect, emotion, or knowledge: "This is a shallow parody of America" (Lloyd Rose).

  3. Marked by insufficient inhalation of air; weak: shallow respirations.

  4. In the part of a playing area that is closer to home plate: shallow left field.

n.  A part of a body of water of little depth; a shoal. Often used in the plural: abandoned the boat in the shallows.
tr. & intr.v.   shal·lowed, shal·low·ing, shal·lows
To make or become shallow.

[Middle English schalowe.]
shal'low·ly adv., shal'low·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

shallow 
c.1400, schalowe "not deep," probably from O.E. sceald (see shoal). Of breathing, attested from 1875; of thought or feeling, "superficial," first recorded c.1586. The noun, usually shallows, is first recorded 1571, from the adj.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: shal·low
Pronunciation: 'shal-(")O, -&(-w)
Function: adjective
: displacing comparatively little air <shallow breathing>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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