shallow

[ shal-oh ]

adjective

, shal·low·er, shal·low·est.

1. of little depth; not deep:

   shallow water.

2. lacking depth; superficial:

   a mind that is not narrow but shallow.

3. taking in a relatively small amount of air in each inhalation:

   shallow breathing.

4. Baseball. relatively close to home plate:

   The shortstop caught the pop fly in shallow left field.

noun

1. Usually shallows. (used with a singular or plural verb) a shallow part of a body of water; shoal.

adverb

1. Baseball. at a shallow position:

   With the pitcher up, the outfielders played shallow.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to make or become shallow.

shallow

/ ˈʃæləʊ /

adjective

1. having little depth
2. lacking intellectual or mental depth or subtlety; superficial

noun

1. often plural a shallow place in a body of water; shoal

verb

1. to make or become shallow

Derived Forms

• ˈshallowly, adverb
• ˈshallowness, noun

Other Words From

• shallow·ly adverb
• shallow·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of shallow¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English schalowe (adjective); akin to Old English sceald “shallow” ( shoal ¹ )

Word History and Origins

Origin of shallow¹

C15: related to Old English sceald shallow; see shoal ¹

Example Sentences

Sight fishing in shallow water is one of the most exciting ways to chase fish on inshore waters.

From Popular-Science

VanDevender thinks there’s probably an ideal middle ground that will call for modest shielding and shallow underground locations.

From MIT Technology Review

Romania has shallow-water gas projects, but a major deep-water find by eight years ago has still to be exploited.

From Fortune

Just spinning the wheels on even a shallow incline caused the vehicle to sink into the seeds.

From Science News For Students

Working with more sophisticated GPS tracking devices, they found that albatrosses did not perform Lévy walks while searching for food above shallow water, where they might have more visual or olfactory information to guide them.

From Quanta Magazine

The wreckage of the Airbus A320 has been located in relatively shallow water.

From The Daily Beast

Men cross the river at shallow points with herds of animals while women tend the fields in colorful dresses.

From The Daily Beast

They converted what should have been a long-overdue moral reckoning into a shallow and hysterical ratings bonanza.

From The Daily Beast

George was neither shallow nor superficial; his personality was deep and multidimensional.

From The Daily Beast

The soldiers are forced to dig their own shallow grave and are then shot in a chilling scene at the conclusion.

From The Daily Beast

In these archipelagos the waters being shallow, the frost was quite intense enough to cool them to the bottom.

From Project Gutenberg

These bogs are of all depths from a few inches to thirty or forty feet, though the very shallow have generally been reclaimed.

From Project Gutenberg

A Naval Officer who has seen her says she is lying in shallow water—6 fathoms—bottom upwards looking like a stranded whale.

From Project Gutenberg

The sides generally rather shallow, heads of exquisite form and well defined.

From Project Gutenberg

If we have dry weather the water will, at the next shallow level, fall off two strokes per minute before the next lift is in fork.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• empty
• foolish
• frothy
• hollow
• trivial