Shallow Definition & Meaning

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    • Synonyms shallow American [shal-oh] / ˈʃæl oʊ /

    adjective

    shallower, shallowest

    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

    1. (used with a singular or plural verb) Usually shallows. a shallow part of a body of water; shoal.

    adverb

    1. Baseball. at a shallow position.

      With the pitcher up, the outfielders played shallow.

    verb (used with or without object)

    1. to make or become shallow.

    shallow British / ˈʃæləʊ /

    adjective

    1. having little depth

    2. lacking intellectual or mental depth or subtlety; superficial

    "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

    noun

    1. (often plural) a shallow place in a body of water; shoal

    "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

    verb

    1. to make or become shallow

    "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 Word Forms

    • shallowly adverb
    • shallowness noun

    Etymology

    Origin of shallow

    First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English schalowe (adjective); akin to Old English sceald “shallow” ( shoal 1 )

    Example Sentences

    Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

    Beneath the open grasslands and shallow waters lie the remains of extensive earthworks, raised agricultural fields, and interconnected canals that reflect a long history of people adapting to a dynamic environment.

    From Science Daily

    The project tested more than 10,000 wells in a region where many families rely on shallow tube wells with arsenic levels ranging from extremely low to dangerously high.

    From Science Daily

    This area contains a series of long, shallow grooves set within a landscape of deep valleys, scattered impact craters, and surface textures that point to a distant ice age on the Red Planet.

    From Science Daily

    Those markets, however, have been in a downturn, and the expected recovery has been shallower than what investors were expecting at the beginning of the year because of uncertainties over U.S. trade policy.

    From MarketWatch

    This ability of faults to regain strength, known as cohesion, may be significant in other tectonic environments as well, including shallower systems and regions responsible for large earthquakes.

    From Science Daily

    Related Words

    • empty
    • foolish
    • frothy
    • hollow
    • trivial

    Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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

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