shadow

The word “shadow” means a dark shape cast on a surface when something blocks light. In plain terms, a dark shape cast by blocked light, or, more broadly, someone/something that closely follows or unofficially mirrors another.

“Shadow” is pronounced SHA-doh (/ˈʃædəʊ̯/ in IPA).

Here is “shadow” used in a sentence: “Her shadow stretched long across the pavement in the evening sun.”

Depending on how it is used, “shadow” can be a noun, a verb and an adjective.

The word “shadow” comes from Old English. From Old English sceaduwe, related to sceadu ("shade") — shadow and shade are doublets from the same Germanic root.

“Shadow” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Shadow” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a dark shape cast on a surface when something blocks light.

A shadow is the distinct dark shape an object casts when it blocks light — you can see its outline, like your own shadow on the pavement. Shade is simply an area sheltered from direct light, with no particular shape, such as the coolness under a tree. A shadow has form; shade is just relief from the sun.

A shadow appears when an opaque object stands in the path of light and blocks it from reaching a surface. The object stops the light, leaving a darker area shaped like its outline behind it. The position and size of the shadow depend on where the light source sits and how close the object is.

Shadows depend on the angle of the light. When the sun is low, in the early morning and late afternoon, light strikes objects from the side and stretches their shadows long. When the sun is high near midday, it shines almost straight down, so shadows shrink to their shortest. The moving sun keeps them shifting.