Meaning & use
a parasol
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
a light umbrella used to protect someone from strong sunlight, often held in the hand
Grammar: Countable and often used with 'carry' or 'hold': carry a parasol, hold a parasol.
Patterns
- carry a parasol
- hold a parasol over someone
- sit under a parasol
She carried a white lace parasol to keep the sun off her face.
We sat under a parasol and drank lemonade.
He bought a paper parasol at the market.
nouncountable
a large sunshade fixed over a table or seat outdoors, like a wide umbrella on a pole
Grammar: Countable; in this sense it is often interchangeable with 'sunshade' or 'beach umbrella'.
Patterns
- a table with a parasol
- put up a parasol
- a garden parasol
The café tables each have a red parasol.
Put the parasol up before the guests arrive.
Word forms
| plural | parasols |
|---|
Common combinations
- a beach parasol
- We took a beach parasol and two folding chairs.
- a lace parasol
- Her lace parasol matched her dress.
- under a parasol
- The baby slept under a parasol.
- put up a parasol
- Could you put up the parasol? The sun is fierce.
- a garden parasol
- A garden parasol keeps the patio table cool.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sunshade
- A more general word for anything that blocks the sun, including a car window screen, so it is broader than 'parasol'.
- umbrella
- Usually for rain; using it for sun is fine but less precise than 'parasol'.
- sun umbrella
- A common everyday term for the large kind used over tables, less old-fashioned than 'parasol'.
Word family
- parasol mushroom noun
- A tall edible mushroom whose cap looks like an open parasol.
Commonly confused: a parasol or parachute? a parasol or parasailing?
a parasol vs parachute
A device that slows a fall from the air; it sounds similar but has nothing to do with sun.
a parasol vs parasailing
A sport where you are pulled behind a boat under a canopy; the sound is close but the meaning is different.
Practice
You are going to the beach and want shade from the sun while you sit. Which is the best choice?
Choose one answer.
A parasol blocks strong sunlight, which is what you need on the beach. A raincoat and a scarf do not give shade, and a torch gives light, not shade.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a parasol”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.