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definitions

shower

1
[shou-er]
See more synonyms for shower on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a brief fall of rain or, sometimes, of hail or snow.
  2. Also called shower bath. a bath in which water is sprayed on the body, usually from an overhead perforated nozzle (showerhead).
  3. the apparatus for this or the room or stall enclosing it.
  4. a large supply or quantity: a shower of wealth.
  5. a party given for a bestowal of presents of a specific kind, especially such a party for a prospective bride or prospective mother: a linen shower; a baby shower.
  6. a fall of many objects, as tears, sparks, or missiles.
  7. Astronomy. air shower.
  8. showers, a room or area equipped with several showerheads or stalls for use by a number of people at the same time.
verb (used with object)
  1. to bestow liberally or lavishly.
  2. to deluge (a person) with gifts, favors, etc.: She was showered with gifts on her birthday.
  3. to bathe (oneself) in a shower bath.
verb (used without object)
  1. to rain in a shower.
  2. to take a shower bath.
Idioms
  1. send to the showers, Baseball.
    1. to replace (a pitcher) during a game, usually because he or she is ineffective: The coach sent him to the showers after he walked three batters in a row.
    2. to cause (a pitcher) to be replaced in a game, as by getting many hits off him or her; knock out of the box: Two home runs and a line-drive double sent her to the showers.

Origin of shower

1
before 950; Middle English shour (noun), Old English scūr; cognate with German Schauer, Old Norse skūr, Gothic skūra
Related formsshow·er·less, adjectiveshow·er·like, adjectiveun·show·ered, adjectiveun·show·er·ing, adjectivewell-show·ered, adjective

Synonyms for shower

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
4. flood, deluge, torrent, stream.

shower

2
[shoh-er]
noun
  1. a person or thing that shows.

Origin of shower

2
before 900; Middle English shewere, Old English scēawere, derivative of scēawian to show, see -er1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for shower

deluge, downpour, rain, flood, hail, storm, drizzle, sleet, rainstorm, drench, spray, sprinkle, pour, pamper, cloudburst, thunderstorm, patter, fall, mist, give

Examples from the Web for shower

Contemporary Examples of shower

Historical Examples of shower

  • I was too far to hear him, but the people broke out with a shower of sticks and stones.

    The Trail Book

    Mary Austin

  • So far above the shower had been his head, that not a hair of it was moistened by the rain-drops!

    The Three Golden Apples

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

  • I left my winders open, and I think there's a shower comin' up.

  • A shower of red-hot stones warned him that he was near the volcano.

    Classic Myths

    Mary Catherine Judd

  • Once more may the rustling of the shower refresh our longing ears!

    Imogen

    William Godwin

British Dictionary definitions for shower

shower

1
noun
  1. a brief period of rain, hail, sleet, or snow
  2. a sudden abundant fall or downpour, as of tears, sparks, or light
  3. a rush; outpouringa shower of praise
    1. a kind of bath in which a person stands upright and is sprayed with water from a nozzle
    2. the room, booth, etc, containing such a bathFull name: shower bath
  5. British slang a derogatory term applied to a person or group, esp to a group considered as being slack, untidy, etc
  6. US, Canadian, Australian and NZ a party held to honour and present gifts to a person, as to a prospective bride
  7. a large number of particles formed by the collision of a cosmic-ray particle with a particle in the atmosphere
  8. NZ a light fabric cover thrown over a tea table to protect the food from flies, dust, etc
verb
  1. (tr) to sprinkle or spray with or as if with a showershower the powder into the milk
  2. (often with it as subject) to fall or cause to fall in the form of a shower
  3. (tr) to give (gifts, etc) in abundance or present (a person) with (gifts, etc)they showered gifts on him
  4. (intr) to take a shower
Derived Formsshowery, adjective

Word Origin for shower

Old English scūr; related to Old Norse skūr, Old High German skūr shower, Latin caurus northwest wind

shower

2
noun
  1. a person or thing that shows
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 shower
n.1

Old English scur "a short fall of rain, storm, tempest; fall of missiles or blows; struggle, commotion; breeze," from West Germanic *skuraz (cf. Old Norse skur, Old Saxon and Old Frisian scur "fit of illness;" Old High German scur, German Schauer "shower, downpour;" Gothic skura, in skura windis "windstorm"), from PIE root *kew-(e)ro- "north, north wind" (cf. Latin caurus "northwest wind;" Old Church Slavonic severu "north, north wind;" Lithuanian šiaurus "raging, stormy," šiaurys "north wind," šiaure "north").

Of blood, tears, etc., from c.1400. Of meteors from 1835. Sense of "bath in which water is poured from above" first recorded 1851 (short for shower-bath, itself attested from 1803). Meaning "large number of gifts bestowed on a bride" (1904, American English colloquial) later was extended to the party at which it happens (1926). Shower curtain attested from 1914.

v.

1570s, "come down in showers;" 1580s, "to discharge a shower," from shower (n.1). Intransitive sense from 1930. Related: Showered; showering.

n.2

"one who shows," Old English sceawere "spectator, watchtower, mirror," agent noun; see show (v.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with shower

shower

see cold shower.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.