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in the shade

in the shade

26 1.0
In a place protected from direct sun that is cooler
  • idiom
translation icon : a la sombra
  • They enjoyed their lunch in the shade of the large tree to escape the heat.
  • sit in the shade
  • rest in the shade
  • grow in the shade

So you get up and you go under a tree in the shade, in the shade.

Examples

  • Put him in the shade, quick!

  • Stewart McClaren lay, eyes closed, in the shade of an old apple tree.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • You should rest in the shade.

  • We are in the shade.

  • They grow either in the shade or in the sun.

  • In the hospital grounds, on a bench in the shade, we found Vera.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • On Sunday afternoons, one could see whole families enjoying dinner in the shade of their vine.

    Academic text (1992)
  • An old man, wizened and sly, was sitting on a bench in the shade, smoking up a storm.

    Academic text (2007)
  • On her way back to town, she rested in the shade of a stunted, umbrella-shaped tree.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • We spent the afternoon making a strawberry-rhubarb pie, sipping iced tea in the shade, and reading.

    Fiction book (1993)

Antonyms

1 3.4

Not protected from danger or bad weather

How Shaded

shadowed
3.5
shaded
1 1.6
in the shade
26 1.0
dappled
5 5.5

Surface Forms

Morphology

in + the + shade

The meaning 'in a place sheltered from direct sunlight' is directly and compositionally derived from 'in' (locative preposition) + 'shade' (a shady spot), with 'the' functioning only as a definite article. This literal, cross-linguistically common spatial construction follows standard English noun phrase composition and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

In the shade creates a simple picture: you sit under a tree or by a wall where its shadow cools you and keeps you out of the hot sun. That's why in the shade means 'in a place sheltered from direct sunlight' or 'feeling cooler'.