dune

American  

[doon, dyoon] / dun, djun /

noun

• dunes
  plural

1. a sand hill or sand ridge formed by the wind, usually in desert regions or near lakes and oceans.

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dune British  

/ djuːn /

noun

1. a mound or ridge of drifted sand, occurring on the sea coast and in deserts

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dune Scientific  

/ do̅o̅n /

1. A hill or ridge of wind-blown sand. Dunes are capable of moving by the motion of their individual grains but usually keep the same shape.

2. See more at barchan dune draa longitudinal dune seif dune transverse dune

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dunes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dune

1780–90; < French, Old French < Middle Dutch dūna; cognate with down ³

Explanation

A dune is a natural hill made of sand, either on a beach or in a desert. It's a good idea to bring plenty of water and a camel if you're trekking across sand dunes in the Sahara. Sometimes people drive special vehicles on the dunes beside the ocean — these are sometimes called "dune buggies." These seaside dunes are formed by a combination of wind and water, while the dunes in a desert are purely the result of wind. The origin of the word dune is somewhat uncertain, although it probably comes from a French word with an older Germanic root.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dune dunes

"Firefighters will carry out combined operations of clearing forest undergrowth and treating the edges of the fire in the dune area," a prefecture official said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Last week the government announced several projects it was funding to protect threatened species including a scheme aiming to increase the numbers of northern dune tiger beetles and natterjack toads in Cumbria.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Emojis, Disney characters, cigarettes and more pile up in humorous scenes that include a saber-toothed tiger driving a dune buggy and a pair of corvids fighting over a worm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

In one case, human footprints appear alongside deer tracks created at the same time, supporting the idea of pursuit or ambush activity within the dune environment.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 13, 2025

On January 16, McCandless left the stubby metal boat on a hummock of dune grass southeast of El Golfo de Santa Clara and started walking north up the deserted beach.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Hundreds of firefighters have over the past few days been battling blazes in the southwest of France famous for its sand dunes, pine trees, and oyster shacks.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

“So then they asked me to walk down this beach, and every 10 minutes you’d hear ‘Rolling!’ and I’d have to lie down and hide behind these dunes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Later it took further beatings as they worked out how the 8,000-pound horse could be dragged over dunes and log rollers by actors with ropes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

This 2.5-inch lizard lives exclusively in the West Texas dunes, where oil and gas production has been encroaching on its territory, the groups argued.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026

They lay down in the soft sand at the foot of the dunes, and then they heard the first bird calling.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• knoll
• ridge
• sand dune