shroud

[ shroud ]
See synonyms for: shroudshrouded on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a cloth or sheet in which a corpse is wrapped for burial.

  2. something that covers or conceals like a garment: a shroud of rain.

  1. Nautical. any of a number of taut ropes or wires converging from both sides on the head of a lower or upper mast of the outer end of a bowsprit to steady it against lateral sway: a part of the standing rigging.

  2. Also called shroud line .Aeronautics. any of a number of suspension cords of a parachute attaching the load to the canopy.

  3. Also called shrouding. Machinery.

    • (on a nonmetallic gear) an extended metal rim enclosing the ends of the teeth on either side.

    • (on a water wheel) one of two rings of boards or plates enclosing the buckets at their ends.

  4. Rocketry. a cone-shaped shield that protects the payload of a launch vehicle.

verb (used with object)
  1. to wrap or clothe for burial; enshroud.

  2. to cover; hide from view.

  1. to veil, as in obscurity or mystery: They shrouded their past lives in an effort to forget.

  2. to provide (a water wheel) with a shroud.

  3. Obsolete. to shelter.

verb (used without object)
  1. Archaic. to take shelter.

Origin of shroud

1
before 1000; (noun) Middle English; Old English scrūd; cognate with Old Norse skrūth; akin to shred; (v.) Middle English shrouden, derivative of the noun; replacing Middle English shriden,Old English scrȳdan, derivative of scrūd

Other words for shroud

Other words from shroud

  • shroudless, adjective
  • shroudlike, adjective

Words Nearby shroud

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

How to use shroud in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shroud

shroud

/ (ʃraʊd) /


noun
  1. a garment or piece of cloth used to wrap a dead body

  2. anything that envelops like a garment: a shroud of mist

  1. a protective covering for a piece of equipment

  2. astronautics a streamlined protective covering used to protect the payload during a rocket-powered launch

  3. nautical one of a pattern of ropes or cables used to stay a mast

  4. any of a set of wire cables stretched between a smokestack or similar structure and the ground, to prevent side sway

  5. Also called: shroud line any of a set of lines running from the canopy of a parachute to the harness

verb
  1. (tr) to wrap in a shroud

  2. (tr) to cover, envelop, or hide

  1. archaic to seek or give shelter

Origin of shroud

1
Old English scrūd garment; related to Old Norse skrūth gear

Derived forms of shroud

  • shroudless, adjective

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