An umbrella is a portable device that keeps you dry in the rain. It has a circular canopy of waterproof fabric stretched over a folding frame of metal ribs, all attached to a handle you hold. When rain starts falling, you open the umbrella above your head, and the water rolls off the fabric instead of soaking you.

Umbrellas have been around for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians and Chinese used them, though often for shade from the sun rather than rain. The folding umbrella we know today was perfected in the 1800s, making it easy to carry when not in use.

The word umbrella can also describe something that covers or includes many different things, like an umbrella organization that oversees several smaller groups. A scientist might use the phrase umbrella term to describe a word that covers many related concepts: “reptile” is an umbrella term for snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles.

You might hear the phrase under the umbrella of, meaning protected by or included in something larger. A school play might happen under the umbrella of the drama club, meaning the drama club organizes and supports it.