noun
1. a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial
• figurative a thing that envelops or obscures something
• technical a protective casing or cover
2. ( shrouds) a set of ropes forming part of the standing rigging of a sailing vessel and supporting the mast from the sides
• (also shroud line) each of the lines joining the canopy of a parachute to the harness
