fjord

or fiord

[ fyawrd, fyohrd; Norwegian fyohr, fyoor ]

noun

1. a long, narrow arm of the sea bordered by steep cliffs: usually formed by glacial erosion.
2. (in Scandinavia) a bay.

fjord

/ fjɔːd /

noun

1. (esp on the coast of Norway) a long narrow inlet of the sea between high steep cliffs formed by glacial action

fjord

/ fyôrd /

1. A long, narrow, deep inlet from the sea between steep slopes of a mountainous coast. Fjords usually occur where ocean water flows into valleys formed near the coast by glaciers.

Other Words From

• fjordic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fjord¹

From Norwegian; firth

Word History and Origins

Origin of fjord¹

C17: from Norwegian, from Old Norse fjörthr ; see firth , ford

Example Sentences

So-called tidewater glaciers like Taku often bulldoze a mound of sediment ahead of them as they grind down a fjord.

From Outside Online

Scientists recently announced that they now expect Taku to start receding up its fjord, perhaps very quickly.

From Outside Online

Having a rare purebred dog doesn’t just say “I am a special snowflake with a cool dog,” it also says “I am rich as hell, and can afford to import a puffin-hunting dog from the remote fjords of Norway.”

From Popular-Science

These dimensions are typical of some of the massive glaciers in Greenland flowing into deep fjords, Bassis says.

From Science News

For instance, the account of a huge wave in Alaska that scoured mature trees from steep slopes along fjords up to a height of 524 meters — about 100 meters taller than the Empire State Building — may leave readers stunned.

From Science News

The tour then goes to Norway for dives of a fjord, followed by stops in Portugal, Ukraine, Spain, and a season finale in Brazil.

From The Daily Beast

The little white house of Skipper Randulf stood on an elevation, looking over the bay and the fjord.

From Project Gutenberg

The fjord below lay as smooth as a mirror, the outermost headlands and islands seeming to stand out of the water.

From Project Gutenberg

And it was at this season that the fjord near-by which the kings most oft abode gat its name of Harding.

From Project Gutenberg

Send also word to Erling to go out of the fjord so that we may meet in More.

From Project Gutenberg

The wind was sweeping down over the meadow, and driving the thick smoke from the pitch-house out over the fjord.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• inlet