shallow

[shal-oh]

See more synonyms for shallow on Thesaurus.com

adjective, shal·low·er, shal·low·est.

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

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

adverb

Baseball. at a shallow position: With the pitcher up, the outfielders played shallow.

verb (used with or without object)

to make or become shallow.

Origin of shallow

1350–1400; Middle English schalowe (adj.); akin to Old English sceald shallow (see shoal¹)

Related formsshal·low·ly, adverbshal·low·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shallower

Contemporary Examples

“Megalodon fossils appear in shallower marine sediments,” Balk said.
Shark Week Is Lying Again: Megalodon Is Definitely Extinct
David Shiffman
August 15, 2014
Hertli also is considering creating lower-price items for those with shallower pockets but gilded aspirations.
Lingerie for the 1 Percent
CNBC
August 6, 2013
Using fictional characters, Brooks describes a generation that has “a sense that they are shallower than they need to be.”
This Week's Best Journalism
The Daily Beast
January 15, 2011

Historical Examples

He hurried along the edge, looking for a shallower place, but found none.
Keziah Coffin
Joseph C. Lincoln
The trench is not to be sunk deeper than two feet and a half, or shallower than one foot and a half.
The Economist
Xenophon
The fish sheered to and fro, and would not come into shallower water.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey
The swirl of the current swept him into the shallower stream below.
The Highgrader
William MacLeod Raine
Shallower men than he had gone out as ministers of the great Republic.
The Guardian Angel
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

British Dictionary definitions for shallower

shallow

adjective

having little depth
lacking intellectual or mental depth or subtlety; superficial

noun

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

verb

to make or become shallow

Derived Formsshallowly, adverbshallowness, noun

Word Origin

C15: related to Old English sceald shallow; see shoal 1

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

Word Origin and History for shallower

shallow

adj.

c.1400, schalowe "not deep," probably from or related to Old English sceald (see shoal (n.)). Of breathing, attested from 1875; of thought or feeling, "superficial," first recorded 1580s. The noun, usually shallows, is first recorded 1570s, from the adjective.

shallow

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}shallow

Examples from the Web for shallower

Contemporary Examples

“Megalodon fossils appear in shallower marine sediments,” Balk said.

Hertli also is considering creating lower-price items for those with shallower pockets but gilded aspirations.

Using fictional characters, Brooks describes a generation that has “a sense that they are shallower than they need to be.”

Historical Examples

He hurried along the edge, looking for a shallower place, but found none.

The trench is not to be sunk deeper than two feet and a half, or shallower than one foot and a half.

The fish sheered to and fro, and would not come into shallower water.

The swirl of the current swept him into the shallower stream below.

Shallower men than he had gone out as ministers of the great Republic.

shallow

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for shallower

shallow

adj.

Origin of shallow