fjord
Americannoun
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fjords
plural
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a long, narrow arm of the sea bordered by steep cliffs: usually formed by glacial erosion.
-
(in Scandinavia) a bay.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of fjord
From Norwegian; see origin at firth
Explanation
A fjord is a long, narrow strip of sea that falls between tall cliffs. If you’re traveling in Norway you might be amazed by the rocky cliffs surrounding the deep water of a fjord. A fjord is formed when a slow moving glacier carves out a valley in the earth that then becomes flooded by ocean water. Tall cliffs surrounding a narrow band of water make fjords look very dramatic. Fjords are common in countries like Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. The word fjord gets its looks from its Norwegian origins. Pronounce this funny looking word with a long “e” sound and the accent on the first syllable: “FEE-ord.”
Vocabulary lists containing fjord
Physical Geography - Middle School
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Boy: Tales of Childhood
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Physical Geography - High School
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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:
And the team’s official World Cup photo features the players dressed as Nordic warriors, weapons in hand, posed before a scenic fjord with long boats in the background.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
"It's on its way to being a fjord, not a glacier."
From Science Daily ● May 19, 2026
Conservationist and photographer Rebecca Douglas is part of a team researching whales in a remote Icelandic fjord, which has been recording their sounds for a year.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
IKATEQ, Greenland—Deep in a remote fjord in Greenland, hundreds of rusty fuel drums known locally as “American flowers” litter the icy wilderness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Worsley, Vincent, Crean, and McCarthy took turns at their two oars, pulling the boat forward and trying to get into the long fjord.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Summer is the busiest time of year for iceberg activity in Greenland's glacier-fed fjords, and 2026 delivered a particularly dramatic example.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
It was only a few days ago that the horde from the fjords was in Boston taking over the subway system before their team’s first match, a 4-1 victory over Iraq.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Instead, the squad headed to one of the country's famed fjords to be snapped head-to-toe in authentic Viking dress, with weapons and shields to boot.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
While the national strategy for Winter Olympics supremacy goes back decades, Norway’s preparation for the 2026 Games really began a year ago, when almost everyone on the team gathered far from the fjords.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
Deep in Madame’s voice, Marie-Laure hears water: atolls and archipelagoes and lagoons and fjords.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
