shroud

[shroud]

noun

1. a cloth or sheet in which a corpse is wrapped for burial.

   Synonyms: winding sheet

2. something that covers or conceals like a garment.

   a shroud of rain.

3. Nautical.,  any of a number of taut ropes or wires converging from both sides on the head of a lower or upper mast of the outer end of a bowsprit to steady it against lateral sway: a part of the standing rigging.

4. Also called shroud line. Aeronautics.,  any of a number of suspension cords of a parachute attaching the load to the canopy.

5. Also called shrouding. Machinery.

   1. (on a nonmetallic gear) an extended metal rim enclosing the ends of the teeth on either side.

   2. (on a water wheel) one of two rings of boards or plates enclosing the buckets at their ends.

6. Rocketry.,  a cone-shaped shield that protects the payload of a launch vehicle.

verb (used with object)

1. to wrap or clothe for burial; enshroud.

2. to cover; hide from view.

   Synonyms: screen, conceal

3. to veil, as in obscurity or mystery.

   They shrouded their past lives in an effort to forget.

4. to provide (a water wheel) with a shroud.

5. Obsolete.,  to shelter.

verb (used without object)

1. Archaic.,  to take shelter.

shroud

/ ʃraʊd /

noun

1. a garment or piece of cloth used to wrap a dead body

2. anything that envelops like a garment

   a shroud of mist

3. a protective covering for a piece of equipment

4. astronautics a streamlined protective covering used to protect the payload during a rocket-powered launch

5. nautical one of a pattern of ropes or cables used to stay a mast

6. any of a set of wire cables stretched between a smokestack or similar structure and the ground, to prevent side sway

7. Also called: shroud line. any of a set of lines running from the canopy of a parachute to the harness

verb

1. (tr) to wrap in a shroud

2. (tr) to cover, envelop, or hide

3. archaic,  to seek or give shelter

Other Word Forms

• shroudless adjective
• shroudlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shroud¹

before 1000; (noun) Middle English; Old English scrūd; cognate with Old Norse skrūth; akin to shred; (v.) Middle English shrouden, derivative of the noun; replacing Middle English shriden, Old English scrȳdan, derivative of scrūd

Word History and Origins

Origin of shroud¹

Old English scrūd garment; related to Old Norse skrūth gear

Example Sentences

Mystery still shrouds Zhang’s escape in July, following a late night court hearing in Mexico City when a judge unexpectedly granted him house arrest.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The governor scoffs, “man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud. There is always something.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

India's capital New Delhi was shrouded in a thick, toxic haze on Monday as air pollution levels soared to more than 16 times the World Health Organization’s recommended daily maximum.

Read more on Barron's

Slocum, of Public Citizen, said that communities are objecting to a process that has been shrouded in secrecy, with public officials sometimes being asked to sign nondisclosure agreements about the projects.

Read more on Barron's

Slocum, of Public Citizen, said that communities are objecting to a process that has been shrouded in secrecy, with public officials sometimes being asked to sign nondisclosure agreements about the projects.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• cloak 
• pall 
• veil