barrier reef
a reef of coral running roughly parallel to the shore and separated from it by a wide, deep lagoon.
Origin of barrier reef
1Words Nearby barrier reef
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use barrier reef in a sentence
That goes for the different types of reefs, including barrier reefs, atolls, lagoon reefs, and shallow fringing reefs.
I was out, maybe in the Great barrier reef catching black marlin.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe light came, touching with silver the great, tumbling seas outside the barrier reef, but the seas were empty.
The Island of Enchantment | Justus Miles FormanHow I wish we were going down the east coast of Australia, inside the barrier-reef, instead of down the stormy west coast!
The Last Voyage | Lady (Annie Allnutt) BrasseyHe had five fine boats, which are constantly at work inside the Great barrier reef.
The Last Voyage | Lady (Annie Allnutt) Brassey
Thus a barrier reef may be formed by the seaward growth of a fringing reef upon the talus of its sea face.
The Elements of Geology | William Harmon NortonThere is no encircling barrier reef, while the soundings are so regular as to exclude the existence of coral knolls.
Cruise of the 'Alert' | R. W. Coppinger
British Dictionary definitions for barrier reef
a long narrow coral reef near and lying parallel to the shore, separated from it by deep water: See Great Barrier Reef
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
Scientific definitions for barrier reef
A long, narrow ridge of coral that runs parallel to the mainland and is separated from it by a deep lagoon. Compare atoll fringing reef.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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