shower
1 Americannoun
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a brief fall of rain or, sometimes, of hail or snow.
An afternoon shower is forecast for tomorrow.
This weekend they’re predicting freezing weather with scattered snow showers.
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Also called shower bath.
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a bath in which water is sprayed on the body, usually from an overhead perforated nozzle showerhead.
I took a quick shower before dinner.
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the apparatus for this or the room or stall enclosing it.
The shower is leaking.
We have two bathrooms, but the downstairs one has only a shower and no tub.
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an abundant supply or quantity.
I wish you and your family a shower of wealth, joy, health, and other blessings!
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a party at which gifts of a specific kind are given, as for a bride, prospective parent, someone moving house, or any other purpose.
Excited by the prospect of a new campus infirmary, students and alumni held a linen shower to provide new sheets and towels.
When he moved into his own apartment, we held a housewarming shower for him, giving him more kitchenware than one person could ever use.
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a fall of many objects, such as tears, sparks, things that are thrown, etc..
The couple walked out of the church under a shower of confetti.
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Astronomy. air shower.
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showers, a room or area equipped with several overhead perforated nozzles, sometimes in separate stalls, for use by a number of people bathing at the same time.
verb (used with object)
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to bestow liberally or lavishly.
We showered good wishes and last-minute bits of advice on the departing hockey team.
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to deluge (a person) with gifts, favors, etc..
She was showered with gifts on her birthday.
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to bathe (oneself) with water sprayed on the body, usually from an overhead perforated nozzle.
In the past 30 days the patient has been able to exercise, shower himself, toilet himself, and play a board game.
verb (used without object)
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to bathe with water sprayed on the body, usually from an overhead perforated nozzle.
Do you prefer to shower in the morning or at bedtime?
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to rain briefly.
During the final game on Saturday it showered for a couple of minutes, and then the sun came out again.
idioms
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hit the showers,
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to go and take a shower (originally of a group bathing in a space with multiple overhead nozzles, as in a gym, school, locker room, etc.).
The coach made us run one more lap before we hit the showers.
After eight hours helping them move, I'm ready to hit the showers and go to bed.
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Baseball. (of a pitcher) to be replaced in a game, usually because of ineffectiveness.
He was throwing inconsistently and found himself hitting the showers before the fifth inning four times in two months.
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to stop giving one’s full effort, as if the game or task were over.
You don't hit the showers if you're up three touchdowns in the first quarter—you finish the game with the same intensity you started with.
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send to the showers,
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to replace (a pitcher) during a game, usually because they are ineffective.
The coach sent him to the showers after he walked three batters in a row.
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to cause (a pitcher) to be replaced in a game, as by getting many hits off them; knock out of the box.
Two home runs and a line-drive double sent her to the showers.
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noun
noun
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a brief period of rain, hail, sleet, or snow
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a sudden abundant fall or downpour, as of tears, sparks, or light
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a rush; outpouring
a shower of praise
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a kind of bath in which a person stands upright and is sprayed with water from a nozzle
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Full name: shower bath. the room, booth, etc, containing such a bath
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slang a derogatory term applied to a person or group, esp to a group considered as being slack, untidy, etc
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a party held to honour and present gifts to a person, as to a prospective bride
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a large number of particles formed by the collision of a cosmic-ray particle with a particle in the atmosphere
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a light fabric cover thrown over a tea table to protect the food from flies, dust, etc
verb
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(tr) to sprinkle or spray with or as if with a shower
shower the powder into the milk
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to fall or cause to fall in the form of a shower
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(tr) to give (gifts, etc) in abundance or present (a person) with (gifts, etc)
they showered gifts on him
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(intr) to take a shower
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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showerlessadjective
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showerlikeadjective
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showeryadjective
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unshoweredadjective
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well-showeredadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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showersimple
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showerssimple
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have showeredperfect
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has showeredperfect
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am showeringprogressive
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are showeringprogressive
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is showeringprogressive
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have been showeringperfect progressive
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has been showeringperfect progressive
Past
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showeredsimple
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had showeredperfect
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was showeringprogressive
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were showeringprogressive
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had been showeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shower1
First recorded before 950; Middle English noun shouer, shour, shour(r)e Old English scūr, scūra; cognate with German Schauer, Old Norse skūr, Gothic skūra; verb derivative of the noun
Origin of shower2
First recorded before 900; Middle English sheuer(e), shoure “watchman, overseer, teacher, guide” Old English scēawere, derivative of scēawian to show; see -er 1
Vocabulary lists containing shower
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.
She is looking forward for a refreshing shower after sweating for over a day.
From Barron's • Jun. 30, 2026
Meanwhile, the bathroom boasts a glass-enclosed shower and a dual vanity.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 29, 2026
I thought we would have the conveyor-belt shower and wardrobe system seen on “The Jetsons.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026
He was being moved to the prison's segregation unit because of his actions during the night and officers said he needed a shower after a dirty protest.
From BBC • Jun. 25, 2026
Soon I hear the hiss of the shower and the sound of Mom singing loudly to herself, which is something she’s started doing again the past couple of days.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
