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seashore

American  
[see-shawr, -shohr] / ˈsiˌʃɔr, -ˌʃoʊr /

noun

  • seashores
    plural
  1. land along the sea or ocean.

  2. Law. the ground between the ordinary high-water and low-water marks.


seashore British  
/ ˈsiːˌʃɔː /

noun

  1. land bordering on the sea

  2. the land between the marks of high and low water

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of seashore

First recorded in 1520–30; sea + shore 1


Explanation

The seashore is the land that borders an ocean or sea. She sells seashells on the seashore because that’s where the shells are, on the beach. Now say the whole thing three times fast. You can call the seashore the coast, the beach, or even just the shore. It's the area right next to the sea, and it can be rocky and dramatic or soft and sandy. Sometimes scientists use this word to mean the specific area that's covered with water at high tide but uncovered at low tide. This area is also known as the intertidal zone.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

For seven weeks last year, it seemed the interminable battle over the seashore had finally come to an end.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

"One of the boats with the military personnel reached the seashore and tied a long rope to a tree. That rope was then brought to the boats," Mr Noor said.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2025

SNH has collected specimens of stranded whales in the seashore and river mouth in Hokkaido.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 8, 2024

Mr. Dichter suggested that Gazans could be moved to an area to the west of Rafah along the seashore.

From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 2024

As they watched, two more great boars came clumping down to the seashore, each ridden by a child of about ten.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Alder and ash pollen indicated vegetation associated with riverbanks and seashores, which occur along the coast and in the nearby hinterland.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

Meanwhile, humans keep rebuilding beachfront houses on the same disaster-prone seashores year after year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Yet the National Park Service maintains and protects hundreds of parks, national lakeshores and seashores, recreation areas, walking trails and more, all for you to take in and enjoy.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 3, 2024

Our best guess at how much is trapped within roughly 150 kilometers of seashores worldwide is about one million cubic kilometers.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 17, 2023

This sedentary lifestyle was made possible by the diversity of resource-rich habitats available to Jomon people within a short distance of one central site: inland forests, rivers, seashores, bays, and open oceans.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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