umbrella
/ʌmˈbɹɛl.ə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.89 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Anything that provides similar protection.
noun
Anything that provides similar overarching coverage of a range of concepts, purposes, groups, etc.
noun
A strategy in which five players in the offensive zone form an umbrella-shaped formation around the opposition's goal net.
Example Sentences
- "Quick, grab that umbrella before you get rained on!"
- "There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls."
- "When the [lost property] office first opened, the most frequently lost items were umbrellas. Every white-collar professional carried one, but despite, or because of, that they were easily forgotten about. […] In the 1930s, a quarter of a million umbrellas a year came into the office. Now it's more like 10,000."
- "The fighters provide a defensive air umbrella over the battle group."
- "The test facility was established under the umbrella of the company's quality program."
- "Jellyfish are composed of more than 90% water and most of their umbrella mass is made up of gelatinous material."
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian ombrella (“parasol, sunshade”), from Late Latin umbrella (influenced by umbra (“shadow, shade”)), from Latin umbella, from umbra + -la (diminutive suffix).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ʌmˈbɹɛl.ə/
- British English: /ʌmˈbɹɛl.ə/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Amazonian umbrellabird
Atlantic umbrella slug
bare-necked umbrellabird
bastard umbrella thorn
beach umbrella
golf umbrella
Japanese umbrella pine
long-wattled umbrellabird