shower
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A brief period of precipitation.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
showerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈʃaʊɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A brief period of precipitation
“The game was interrupted by a brief shower.”
A brief fall of precipitation (spell of rain, or a similar fall of snow, sleet, or cascade); burst of hefty precipitation.
A device for bathing by which water is made to fall on the body from a height, either from a tank or by the action of a pump.
A party associated with a significant event in a person's life, at which the person usually receives gifts.
An instance of using of this device in order to bathe oneself.
A sudden downpour (as of tears or sparks etc) likened to a rain shower
“A little shower of rose petals.”
verb
Spray or sprinkle with
“The guests showered rice on the couple.”
To spray with (a specified liquid) (followed by with).
Rain abundantly
“Meteors showered down over half of Australia.”
To bestow liberally, to give or distribute in abundance.
Take a shower; wash one's body in the shower
“You should shower after vigorous exercise.”
To bathe using a shower.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A brief period of precipitation
Used this way, shower is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The game was interrupted by a brief shower.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- rain shower , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Briefnoun
“The game was interrupted by a brief shower.”
Suddennoun
“A little shower of rose petals.”
Sprayverb
“The guests showered rice on the couple.”
Rainverb
“Meteors showered down over half of Australia.”
More ways to use shower
- “The game was interrupted by a brief shower.”noun
- “A little shower of rose petals.”noun
- “They installed a shower in the bathroom.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Give an exhibition of to an interested audience.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A curtain that keeps water from splashing out of the shower area.
Rain abundantly.
A room with several showers.
Booth for washing yourself, usually in a bathroom.
Booth for washing yourself, usually in a bathroom.
A tight cap worn to keep hair dry while showering.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.