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

"I can't believe it. Now we don't have noise and all our equipment is still working," Arevalo, 59, told AFP from his food cart parked under the shade of trees in a Queens park.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

Dr Richard Comont adds that putting in a pond - however small - and shade can also help.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Mine is a shade of camel that my haberdasher insists on calling “whiskey.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

If it’s necessary to be outdoors, residents should stay hydrated and stay in the shade as much as possible.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

In this manner I moved down the river, grabbing shade close in when I could.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

That sort of black-and-white thinking was always going to clash with the shades of gray in Christopher Nolan’s smash-hit adaptation of “The Odyssey.”

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has released a dazzling new image featuring more than 500,000 stars glowing in shades of red, white, and blue.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026

They wander among the houses -- painted mostly in shades of white, yellow or brown -- and go biking or hiking in the surrounding hills of central Slovakia.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

“Having to close the shades just feels so depressing.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

She put her fingers up to her eyelids and pretended she was pulling her eyelids down like they were window shades.

From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman

Reflective films, blinds, shutters, awnings and shaded roofs can all reduce heat gain.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

He was speaking from the shaded courtyard garden of his Mayer am Pfarrplatz heuriger, down the steps from the room where Beethoven stayed while composing part of the Ninth Symphony.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

Sometimes, a fancy beverage, a shaded spot, and friends are all you need.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

“For example, how do you make sure that buses, metro systems, and also walking and cycling routes, are shaded and can still be used during heat waves?”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

Worse, it takes up valuable time that could be better spent reading novels, taking walks in a shaded park, having friends over for tea and biscuits, and any number of equally pleasant pursuits.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

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

Scientists are also experimenting with techniques ranging from nutritional gel to feed corals to shading techniques and genetic engineering to protect reefs.

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

Gimli said nothing, but sank to his knees, shading his eyes.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

Related Words

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