umbrella: Meaning and Definition of

um•brel•la

Pronunciation: (um-brel'u), [key]
— n.
  1. a light, small, portable, usually circular cover for protection from rain or sun, consisting of a fabric held on a collapsible frame of thin ribs radiating from the top of a carrying stick or handle.
  2. the saucer- or bowl-shaped, gelatinous body of a jellyfish; bell.
  3. something that covers or protects from above, as military aircraft safeguarding surface forces: an air umbrella.
  4. any general kind of protection: a price umbrella.
  5. something, as an organization or policy, that covers or encompasses a number of groups or elements.
—adj.
  1. shaped like or intended to perform the function of an umbrella.
  2. having the quality or function of covering or applying simultaneously to a number of similar items, elements, or groups: an umbrella organization; umbrella coverage in an insurance policy.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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