parasols

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Light umbrellas, often held in the hand, used to give shade from strong sunshine.

   Grammar: Plural of parasol: one parasol, two parasols.

   Patterns

   • parasols for someone
   • under the parasols

   The women carried bright silk parasols as they walked along the promenade.

   Colorful parasols were open over every table on the terrace.

   We hired two parasols from the beach hut for the afternoon.

2. 2nounplural

   Large sunshades on a pole, fixed in the ground or in a stand, for shading a table or a patio.

   Grammar: Plural form; the singular is parasol.

   Patterns

   • parasols over something

   The café put out white parasols to protect its customers from the midday sun.

   Heavy parasols were tied down when the wind picked up.

   They bought two parasols for the garden table.

Word forms

Common combinations

beach parasols

Rows of beach parasols dotted the sand.

open the parasols

The waiters open the parasols at ten.

garden parasols

Garden parasols can blow over in a strong wind.

lace parasols

Lace parasols were a fashion accessory in the 1800s.

shade under parasols

Tourists found shade under parasols along the quay.

Synonyms and how they differ

sunshades

Sunshades is a broad word for anything that blocks the sun, including awnings, while parasols are umbrella-shaped.

umbrellas

Umbrellas are meant mainly for rain, though people sometimes use the word for sun cover too.

canopies

Canopies are fixed or tent-like coverings and usually larger than parasols.

Word family

parasol noun

a single sunshade

parachute noun

a canopy that slows a fall, sharing the Greek-Latin 'para' idea of protection

sun noun

the star that gives us light

parasol mushroom noun

an edible mushroom with a wide umbrella-shaped cap

Commonly confused: parasols or parasites?

Practice

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