fjord
Americannoun
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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
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.
"It's on its way to being a fjord, not a glacier."
From Science Daily • May 19, 2026
The sheer power of that amount of rock plunging into the fjord in under a minute created a gigantic wave almost 500 metres tall.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
I drove through the woods and along a fjord until I reached the Alderbrook Resort & Spa, in a town called Union.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
"In winter, everything is white, and if you are flying in a helicopter, for example, and have to monitor an area, you cannot see if a snowmobile has been driven down to a fjord."
From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026
At the end of the long fjord their cove was on, icebergs calved off the ends of twelve or more glaciers with a roar throughout the days that sent birds screeching up into the air.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
