SHOWER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does shower mean? 

• SHOWER (noun)
  The noun SHOWER has 6 senses:

1. a plumbing fixture that sprays water over you

2. washing yourself by standing upright under water sprayed from a nozzle

3. a brief period of precipitation

4. a sudden downpour (as of tears or sparks etc) likened to a rain shower

5. someone who organizes an exhibit for others to see

6. a party of friends assembled to present gifts (usually of a specified kind) to a person

  Familiarity information: SHOWER used as a noun is common.

• SHOWER (verb)
  The verb SHOWER has 5 senses:

1. expend profusely; also used with abstract nouns

2. spray or sprinkle with

3. take a shower; wash one's body in the shower

4. rain abundantly

5. provide abundantly with

  Familiarity information: SHOWER used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SHOWER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A plumbing fixture that sprays water over you

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

they installed a shower in the bathroom

Hypernyms ("shower" is a kind of...):

plumbing fixture (a fixture for the distribution and use of water in a building)

Meronyms (parts of "shower"):

showerhead (a perforated nozzle that showers water on a bather)

Holonyms ("shower" is a part of...):

shower bath; shower stall (booth for washing yourself, usually in a bathroom)

Derivation:

shower (take a shower; wash one's body in the shower)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Washing yourself by standing upright under water sprayed from a nozzle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

shower; shower bath

Context example:

he took a shower after the game

Hypernyms ("shower" is a kind of...):

bathing; washup (the act of washing yourself (or another person))

Derivation:

shower (take a shower; wash one's body in the shower)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A brief period of precipitation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

rain shower; shower

Context example:

the game was interrupted by a brief shower

Hypernyms ("shower" is a kind of...):

rain; rainfall (water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shower"):

scattering; sprinkle; sprinkling (a light shower that falls in some locations and not others nearby)

Derivation:

shower (rain abundantly)

showery ((of weather) wet by periods of rain)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A sudden downpour (as of tears or sparks etc) likened to a rain shower

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

cascade; shower

Context example:

a sudden cascade of sparks

Hypernyms ("shower" is a kind of...):

descent (a movement downward)

Derivation:

shower (rain abundantly)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Someone who organizes an exhibit for others to see

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

exhibitioner; exhibitor; shower

Hypernyms ("shower" is a kind of...):

impresario; promoter; showman (a sponsor who books and stages public entertainments)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A party of friends assembled to present gifts (usually of a specified kind) to a person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Context example:

her friends organized a baby shower for her when she was expecting

Hypernyms ("shower" is a kind of...):

party (a group of people gathered together for pleasure)

• SHOWER (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Expend profusely; also used with abstract nouns

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

lavish; shower

Context example:

He was showered with praise

Hypernyms (to "shower" is one way to...):

consume; squander; ware; waste (spend extravagantly)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something on somebody

Sentence example:

They shower their grandchild with money

Sense 2

Meaning:

Spray or sprinkle with

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

The guests showered rice on the couple

Hypernyms (to "shower" is one way to...):

spray (scatter in a mass or jet of droplets)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something on somebody
Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence examples:

They shower coins on the image
They shower the image with coins

Sense 3

Meaning:

Take a shower; wash one's body in the shower

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

You should shower after vigorous exercise

Hypernyms (to "shower" is one way to...):

bathe (cleanse the entire body)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sentence examples:

They shower
They shower themselves

Derivation:

shower (washing yourself by standing upright under water sprayed from a nozzle)

shower (a plumbing fixture that sprays water over you)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Rain abundantly

Classified under:

Verbs of raining, snowing, thawing, thundering

Synonyms:

shower; shower down

Context example:

Meteors showered down over half of Australia

Hypernyms (to "shower" is one way to...):

rain; rain down (precipitate as rain)

Sentence frame:

It is ----ing

Sentence example:

It was showering all day long

Derivation:

shower (a sudden downpour (as of tears or sparks etc) likened to a rain shower)

shower (a brief period of precipitation)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Provide abundantly with

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Context example:

He showered her with presents

Hypernyms (to "shower" is one way to...):

cater; ply; provide; supply (give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

They shower their grandchild with money

 Context examples 

Jo gave a sort of gasp, as if a cold shower bath had suddenly fallen upon her, for such an unexpected turning of the tables actually took her breath away.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

These activities include eating, dressing, getting into or out of a bed or chair, taking a bath or shower, and using the toilet.

(Activities of daily living, NCI Dictionary)

Long before we saw the sea, its spray was on our lips, and showered salt rain upon us.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The shower occurs when the Earth travels through the tail of dust and ice left behind as the Swift-Tuttle comet orbits the sun.

(Perseid Meteor Shower Provides Opening Act for Solar Eclipse, VOA News)

You may feel as though you were showered by silvery, sparkling stardust.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

How have I delighted, as I walked, to see them driven in showers about me by the wind!

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD) Decide to wash himself/herself or to take a bath or shower?

(DAD - Decide to Wash or Take a Bath or Shower, NCI Thesaurus)

Water can help ease your cough - whether you drink it or add it to the air with a steamy shower or vaporizer.

(Cough, NIH)

"Will you take my arm, sir?" he said; "there is a heavy shower coming on: had you not better go in?"

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I shall just go round by Mrs. Cole's; but I shall not stop three minutes: and, Jane, you had better go home directly—I would not have you out in a shower!

(Emma, by Jane Austen)