shadowing
sha·dow·ing/ʃædoʊɪŋ/noun, verb
shadowing is spelled S-H-A-D-O-W-I-N-G: 9 letters and 3 syllables (sha·dow·ing). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shadowing means “The effect of being shadowed (in the sense of blocked), as from a light source or radio transmission” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shadowing is shadowings.
How many letters and syllables are in shadowing?
| Letters | 9: S-H-A-D-O-W-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: sha·dow·ing |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,320th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is shadowing?
Shadowing appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce shadowing?
- UK /ˈʃædəʊɪŋ/
- US /ʃædoʊɪŋ/
Shadowing has 3 syllables, split sha·dow·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-shadowing.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of shadowing
- shadowings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shadowing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The effect of being shadowed (in the sense of blocked), as from a light source or radio transmission.
- 2
The situation where a person repeats speech immediately as they hear it (usually through earphones).
- 3
Secretly or discreetly tracking or following someone, keeping under surveillance.
- 4
A faint representation; an adumbration.
- 5
The technique of copying ROM contents to RAM to allow for shorter access times. The ROM chip is then disabled while the initialized memory locations are switched in on the same block of addresses.
- 6
A work experience option where students learn about a job by walking through the work day as a shadow to a competent worker.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of shadow
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shadowing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | effet de masque , observation |
| German | Schattenlesen |
| Spanish | observar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does shadowing come from?
From shadow (verb) + -ing (suffix forming nouns denoting the act of doing something, an action, or the embodiment of an action; or forming present participles of verbs).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).