shallow
Americanadjective
-
of little depth; not deep.
shallow water.
-
lacking depth; superficial.
a mind that is not narrow but shallow.
-
taking in a relatively small amount of air in each inhalation.
shallow breathing.
-
Baseball. relatively close to home plate.
The shortstop caught the pop fly in shallow left field.
noun
adverb
verb (used with or without object)
-
shallows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shallowed,
past participle, past
-
shallowing
present participle
adjective
-
having little depth
-
lacking intellectual or mental depth or subtlety; superficial
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
shallowsimple
-
shallowssimple
-
have shallowedperfect
-
has shallowedperfect
-
am shallowingprogressive
-
are shallowingprogressive
-
is shallowingprogressive
-
have been shallowingperfect progressive
-
has been shallowingperfect progressive
Past
-
shallowedsimple
-
had shallowedperfect
-
was shallowingprogressive
-
were shallowingprogressive
-
had been shallowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shallow
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English schalowe (adjective); akin to Old English sceald “shallow” ( see shoal 1)
Explanation
The adjective shallow can describe things that aren't very deep, like a shallow puddle, or people who don't have much emotional or intellectual depth, like shallow people who judge others on their looks and how much money they have. Shallow likely comes from the Old English word sceald, which means "shoal," the water near a shoreline. So, shallow describes something that is close to the surface — like the shallow roots of a newly-planted tree or a person whose interest in someone or something isn't very deep. For instance, a shallow person might go to the opening of a new art exhibition not so much to see the artworks as meet the wealthy people on the museum's board of trustees.
Vocabulary lists containing shallow
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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.
See Examples For:
Its anatomy also suggests that the snake may have spent much of its time on land or in shallow, swampy environments, rather than living exclusively in water.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
“Between the homes, a freeform pool curves through natural rock, hiding a grotto and a slide, with a shallow ledge for lounging and an elevated spa,” according to the listing.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
And William Contreras fought off a low slider, poking it into shallow left field to tie the score.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Images of the so-called Taraia Object show what could be the remnants of a small aircraft sitting in shallow waters.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
She found a shallow pool filled with water lilies: The bulbs would make acceptable food when other things ran out.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
The shallower the earthquake, the more likely it is to have more severe effects on the surface.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Higher levels of CO2 can drive magma rapidly upward from deep underground, while water can become more important when magma spends more time at shallower depths.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
It’s creating shallower and more fragile relationships and communities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
However, small growers often have shallower wells that are more vulnerable to going dry when water levels drop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
The others dug two shallower holes for their portions.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Currently, surveys are limited to very restricted spots, but with the help of these advanced underwater drones, scientists can extend their research from the shallowest regions to depths of 60 meters and beyond.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 15, 2024
Though residential investment, which includes homebuilding, likely contracted for the ninth straight quarter, the decline was probably the shallowest in 1-1/2 years.
From Reuters ● Jul. 27, 2023
Still, I hope Sandro sticks around for many more weeks for the shallowest reason ever.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2022
It’s a shame that, despite a few charming moments that show some depth, the film only offers the shallowest of dips into the ocean that is modern queer culture.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 3, 2022
The shallowest waves lap against mere inches of shore.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Divers tied stone weights around their ankles and held their breath as they sank to the bottom of the shallows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
On Thursday, the beachside felt calm as a woman was leisurely paddle boarding in the shallows while children played on the beach.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
Evie first saw the pale axolotl nestled in the rocks after lifting up a discarded mat in the shallows of the River Ogmore.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
They frequent the shallows surrounding Friday Harbor Labs, the UW research facility located on San Juan Island.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2025
The robot could only stand in the shallows and watch as her son left the other geese behind and desperately swam toward his mother.
From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown
Once again, the sea shallowed, and fish shimmied between crags, sea urchins perched on ridges and starfish danced on the side of the island.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 6, 2017
Instead of descending directly into the mantle, the subducting plate shallowed out and moved eastward beneath the continental plate affecting the overlying continent hundreds of miles east of the continental margin and building high mountains.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017
That shows I've shallowed the path of my driver from the top to impact.
From Golf Digest ● Aug. 7, 2016
“Be a good boy,” my mother said with a shallowed voice before closing the door behind her, leaving us alone.
From Salon ● Mar. 5, 2013
The water soon shallowed, and with a grateful heart he staggered out on a stony beach.
From Canoe Boys and Campfires Adventures on Winding Waters by William Murray Graydon
The researchers cite as one example the Bangkok basin in Thailand, where groundwater levels fell in the late-twentieth century before shallowing out in the early 21at Century.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2024
Instead, the fish have been forced to lay their eggs at the base of Shasta Lake in the shallowing Sacramento River.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2022
His short-iron stats are trailing, but that's a result of how well he's shallowing the club into impact.
From Golf Digest ● May 29, 2019
But the shallowing seawater in the Baltic Sea is not the only thing worrying people in the area, says Knutsson.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2017
She could feel the dream shallowing, like a sleek ship beaching on a shoal.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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