shallow

1 of 3

adjective

shal·​low ˈsha-(ˌ)lō How to pronounce shallow (audio)
1
: having little depth
shallow water
2
: having little extension inward or backward
office buildings have taken the form of shallow slabsLewis Mumford
3
a
: penetrating only the easily or quickly perceived
shallow generalizations
b
: lacking in depth of knowledge, thought, or feeling
a shallow demagogue
4
: displacing comparatively little air : weak
shallow breathing
shallowly
ˈsha-lō-lē How to pronounce shallow (audio)
-lə-lē
adverb
shallowness noun

shallow

2 of 3

verb

shallowed; shallowing; shallows

transitive verb

: to make shallow

intransitive verb

: to become shallow

shallow

3 of 3

noun

: a shallow place or area in a body of water
usually used in plural but singular or plural in construction
Choose the Right Synonym for shallow

superficial, shallow, cursory mean lacking in depth or solidity.

superficial implies a concern only with surface aspects or obvious features.

a superficial analysis of the problem

shallow is more generally derogatory in implying lack of depth in knowledge, reasoning, emotions, or character.

a light, shallow, and frivolous review

cursory suggests a lack of thoroughness or a neglect of details.

gave the letter only a cursory reading

Examples of shallow in a Sentence

Adjective The shallow end of the pool is only three feet deep. Her boyfriends were all shallow creeps. She could only take shallow breaths. His breathing became very shallow. Noun we waded through the shallows looking for tadpoles
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
This innovative design shortens Kokomo’s 28.5-foot draft when the keel is fully extended, to just 15 feet for shallow waters. Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 15 Mar. 2024 Cast them around any shallow structure and over the drop, working them back from deep to shallow. Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 14 Mar. 2024 Three shallow bowls: one with flour, another with beaten egg, the third with breadcrumbs. Yotam Ottolenghi, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Breeding occurs in shallow waters in groups of 10-15 manatees, according to the Manatee Swim Center. Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024 Beloved by mountain bikers and skiers, the resort’s 30-foot waterfall cascades into a shallow plunge pool below. Katie Lockhart, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2024 Intended to help navigate the shallow waters of Western rivers, and possibly inspired by Lincoln’s own experience getting stuck on a sandbar on a journey back to Illinois, the design was never manufactured. Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2024 The underwater egg hunt will include floating and sunken eggs in the shallow end of the pool for participants to collect eggs with their age groups and then turn in eggs for prizes. Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2024 Such declines could also wreck fluvial ecosystems sustained by shallow underground water, including the wetlands and rivers on which millions of Africans depend for fish and other resources. Fred Pearce, WIRED, 9 Mar. 2024
Verb
Smaller reds, however, often school up in the backcountry shallows, providing some of the best sight-fishing opportunities of the year. Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 14 Mar. 2024 But then, millions of western toad tadpoles began their migration from the lake’s depths to the lily pads and shallows above, to feed on the algae. Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2024 The entire sea in that area shallowed, freshened, and then dried out, leaving deep desiccation cracks. Howard Lee, Ars Technica, 8 Feb. 2023 Transfer noodles to shallow serving bowl and top with cucumber, cilantro, scallions and sesame seeds. Kate Bradshaw, The Mercury News, 29 Jan. 2024 Valdez lifted a flyball to shallow right, and the Sox stranded their 13th and 14th runners of the game. Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Sep. 2023 Moore hit a ball out to shallow left in the top of the seventh inning that hard-charging Royals left fielder MJ Melendez was unable to field cleanly. Jace Evans, USA TODAY, 17 Aug. 2023 Smith flared a single to shallow right-center to load the bases with no outs, and Martinez took a full-count cutter off the plate for a walk to force home Betts for a 5-5 tie. Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2023 The father went into the water to help his children and was able to pull them to shallow water, but struggled to maintain his balance. Suzanne Russell, USA TODAY, 3 Aug. 2023
Noun
If the shallows in your local water feature some rocks and vegetation, odds increase that the perch are piled in. Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 14 Mar. 2024 They were awakened when a Jeep plummeted off a 40-foot cliff and landed on its roof in the ocean’s rocky shallows. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024 And, akin to how visiting the ocean’s floor in a submersible differs from scuba diving in its shallows, spaceflight similarly has two distinct regimes. Rick N. Tumlinson, Scientific American, 15 Jan. 2024 Time to starting gearing up for, planning for, and taking full advantage of the annual bass spawn, when fish concentrate in the shallows to bulk up and start bedding. Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 21 Feb. 2024 Colorful fish and small reef-sharks school in the shallows, while manta rays and turtles can be seen from jetties and swimming beneath the villas. Tom Weijand, Robb Report, 9 Nov. 2023 Docked in the shallows off an industrial edge of the South Bronx, the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center is a five-story jail barge that stretches the length of two football fields, resembling a container ship stacked with cargo. Jake Offenhartz, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 Oct. 2023 Instead, choose to spend your time relaxing on the sand, or just splash in the shallows for a refreshing dip and wait for better conditions to take your ocean plunge in peace and safety. Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 7 June 2023 Any quantum circuit with a low score on one of these three quantum metrics lies in the shallows just off the shores of a classical island, and certainly won’t be the next Shor’s algorithm. Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 19 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shallow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English schalowe; probably akin to Old English sceald shallow — more at skeleton

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1510, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun

1569, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shallow was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near shallow

Cite this Entry

“Shallow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shallow. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

shallow

1 of 2 adjective
shal·​low ˈshal-ō How to pronounce shallow (audio)
1
: having little depth
shallow water
2
: showing little knowledge, thought, or feeling
shallowly adverb
shallowness noun

shallow

2 of 2 noun
: a shallow place or area in a body of water
usually used in plural

Medical Definition

shallow

adjective
: displacing comparatively little air
shallow breathing

More from Merriam-Webster on shallow

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