shade

American  

[sheyd] / ʃeɪd /

noun

• shades
  plural

1. the comparative darkness caused by the interception or screening of rays of light from an object, place, or area.

   Synonyms:

   dusk, gloom, obscurity

   Antonyms:

   glare, light

2. a place or an area of comparative darkness, such as one sheltered from the sun.

3. window shade.

4. a lampshade.

5. anything used for protection against excessive light, heat, etc.

   Synonyms:

   screen, veil

6. a shadow.

7. the degree of darkness of a color, determined by the quantity of black or by the lack of illumination.

8. comparative darkness, as the effect of shadow or dark and light, in pictorial representation; the dark part, or a dark part, of a picture or drawing.

9. (in architectural shades and shadows) a shadow upon those parts of a solid that are tangent to or turned away from the parallel rays from the theoretical light source.

10. shades,

    1. Informal. sunglasses.

    2. darkness gathering at the close of day.

       Shades of night are falling.

    3. a reminder of something.

       shades of the Inquisition.

11. a slight variation or degree.

    a shade of difference.

    Synonyms:

    nuance, gradation

12. a little bit; touch, especially of something that may change the color of or lighten or darken something else.

    coffee with a shade of cream.

    Synonyms:

    suggestion, hint, trace

13. Usually shades. a secluded or obscure place.

    He was living in the shades.

14. comparative obscurity.

15. Slang. insults, criticism, or disrespect delivered in an indirect, artful manner: No shade to anyone with kids out there, but I could never be a parent.

    The network cast some subtle shade at its rival with its new advertisement.

    No shade to anyone with kids out there, but I could never be a parent.

16. a specter or ghost.

    Synonyms:

    spirit, phantom, apparition

17. Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology. one of the spirits of the dead inhabiting Hades.

18. the shades, Hades, as the abode of the spirits of the dead.

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verb (used with object)

• shades,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shaded,
  past participle,  past
• shading
  present participle

1. to produce comparative darkness in or on.

2. to obscure, dim, or darken.

   Synonyms:

   obfuscate, blur, cloud

3. to screen or hide from view.

   Synonyms:

   conceal, shelter

4. to protect (something) from light, heat, etc., by or as if by a screen.

   It is important to shade the eyes from a bright light.

5. to cover or screen (a candle, light, etc.).

   Shade the light to protect your eyes.

6. Fine Arts.

   1. to introduce degrees of darkness into (a drawing or painting) in order to render light and shadow or give the effect of color.

   2. to render the values of light and dark in (a drawn figure, object, etc.), especially in order to create the illusion of three-dimensionality.

7. to change by imperceptible degrees into something else.

8. to reduce (the price) by way of a concession.

9. Slang. to insult, criticize, or disrespect (a person or thing) in an indirect, artful manner.

   He got into a fight with someone who shaded his mom.

verb (used without object)

• shades,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shaded,
  past participle,  past
• shading
  present participle

1. to pass or change by slight graduations, as one color, quality, or thing into another.

verb phrase

1. shade up to take shelter (as livestock) from the sun.

idioms

1. throw shade, to insult, criticize, or disrespect a person or thing in an indirect, artful manner.

   He threw some shade at his former boss.

2. cast / put someone in / into the shade, to make another person's efforts seem insignificant by comparison; surpass.

   The architectural brilliance of the celebrated city put the sights of my hometown in the shade.

shade British  

/ ʃeɪd /

noun

1. relative darkness produced by the blocking out of light

2. a place made relatively darker or cooler than other areas by the blocking of light, esp sunlight

3. a position of relative obscurity

4. something used to provide a shield or protection from a direct source of light, such as a lampshade

5. a darker area indicated in a painting, drawing, etc, by shading

6. a colour that varies slightly from a standard colour due to a difference in hue, saturation, or luminosity

   a darker shade of green

7. a slight amount

   a shade of difference

8. literary a ghost

9. an archaic word for shadow

10. to appear better than (another); surpass

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verb

1. to screen or protect from heat, light, view, etc

2. to make darker or dimmer

3. to represent (a darker area) in (a painting, drawing, etc), by means of hatching, using a darker colour, etc

4. (also intr) to change or cause to change slightly

5. to lower (a price) slightly

Usage

What is a basic definition of shade? Shade is darkness created from something blocking light or a lighter or darker variation of a color. Shade also means to block light. The word shade has several other senses as a verb and a noun. When something creates a shadow by blocking light, we say that it provides shade or causes shade. Usually, shade specifically refers to darkness caused by blocking sunlight, but it can result from light of any kind being blocked. If something gives shade or has a lot of shade, we say that it is shady.

• Real-life examples: Trees, umbrellas, and awnings are examples of things that often provide shade.
• Used in a sentence: I hid from the hot sun under the shade of the oak tree. 

Shade also refers to a lighter or darker variation of color. You might like a dark blue, while your friend prefers a lighter shade of blue. The darker shade a color is, the more black it has in it. In contrast, a tint of a color is created when more white is added to it.

• Used in a sentence: I prefer the darker shade of green leaves become in the summer.

Shade also means to provide shadow or to shield something from light.

• Used in a sentence: I shaded my eyes from the bright lights.

The slang phrase to throw shade at someone means to insult or criticize them in an artful but indirect way.

• Used in a sentence: Isabella was so good at throwing shade that her targets often thought she was complimenting them.

Synonym Usage

Shade, shadow imply partial darkness or something less bright than the surroundings. Shade indicates the lesser brightness and heat of an area where the direct rays of light do not fall: the shade of a tree. It differs from shadow in that it implies no particular form or definite limit, whereas shadow often refers to the form or outline of the object that intercepts the light: the shadow of a dog. See curtain.

Regionalisms

See window shade.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• semishade
  noun
• shadelessness
  noun
• intershade
  verb (used with object)
• unshade
  verb (used with object)
• shadeless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• shades
  plural

Participles

• shading
  present
• shaded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• shade
  simple
• shades
  simple
• have shaded
  perfect
• has shaded
  perfect
• am shading
  progressive
• are shading
  progressive
• is shading
  progressive
• have been shading
  perfect progressive
• has been shading
  perfect progressive

Past

• shaded
  simple
• had shaded
  perfect
• was shading
  progressive
• were shading
  progressive
• had been shading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will shade
  simple
• will have shaded
  perfect
• will be shading
  progressive
• will have been shading
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of shade

First recorded before 900; 1960–65 shade for def. 30; 2010–15 shade for def. 31; Middle English noun s(c)hade, Old English sceadu; cognate with German Schatten, Gothic skadus, Greek skótos; verb derivative of the noun; see also shadow ( def. )

Explanation

Shade is a break from the glare of the sun, like the shade of a big tree or the shade under a beach umbrella. Other meanings of shade also come from the sense of "blocking the sun," like a window shade, the shade that diffuses the light from a lamp, or the shades (or sunglasses) you wear at the beach. The same is true when shade is a verb: "This hat is ridiculously big, but it really shades my face from the sun!" If you "throw shade," you're criticizing or expressing contempt for someone in a public way.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shade shades shaded shading

"Move over, sunshine" says the Independent, noting that the eclipse brought a "moment of shade" to the ongoing heatwave.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Some had waited all afternoon in sweltering heat beneath the scant shade of umbrellas, while others, the best prepared, had set up their telescopes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Another considered a deep-green leotard whose verdant shade complemented the florals of her wrap skirt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

New piercing hubs now rolling out feature Claire’s new hero shade of lilac; bigger, comfier chairs than the ones of my youth; and an Inspiration Bar to help customers design their “ear stacks.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The water was a different shade from the river—a slate blue-gray that blended in with the hills and sky, which were darker and lighter shades of the same color.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

These letters haven’t been issued since the Civil War, but the parallel is obvious and creates shades of gray that could present major problems.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

"A large plane flying overhead where somebody could see it, with the shades up and windows illuminated, could tell somebody that it's a particular type of aircraft," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Dispatches sent by pool media on board noted a Secret Service order that window shades be lowered during takeoff -- an unusual instruction outside of combat zones.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

To help conceal the plot, which one anonymous U.S. official called a “deception operation,” White House officials made journalists aboard Air Force One close their window shades.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

On March 19, 2005, alone in his office with the door closed and the shades drawn, reading an abstruse textbook on credit derivatives, Michael Burry got an idea: credit default swaps on subprime mortgage bonds.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

“A resort-style pool, tranquil lily ponds, meandering pathways, shaded terraces, and a full-size tennis court create moments of both recreation and quiet reflection, where the sounds of nature replace the pace of everyday life.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

If there’s a downside to stopping in the “hidden valley of enchantment,” it’s the distinct lack of shaded parking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

That leaves fewer shaded, humid spaces for water to pool and mosquitoes to hide, as well as more access for mosquito predators such as birds and larger insects.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

"Move immediately to a cool place, such as a designated cooling centre or a shaded area, and stay hydrated while resting," it advised.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

I carried a tin bucket of water to a shaded area in the five acres of scrub and dumped it on the ground in the same place a couple of times a day.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

In the rush for everyone to claim tech-company status, we lost a lot of good shading in many iconic logos: Warner Bros.,

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

External shading, such as shutters, awnings or shades, can be even more effective because it stops some sunlight before it reaches the glass.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

He said the focus should be on "passive cooling" such as better designs, shading and ventilation.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

It’s notable that Aviv uses only the first part of the quote as the essay’s title, shading its meaning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

We took turns sipping from the Dr Pepper, shading ourselves with the sail as best we could.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• blacken
• conceal
• darken
• dim
• mute
• obscure
• shield