fringing reef

American  

noun

1. a coral reef close to and along the land.

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fringing reef British  

noun

1. a coral reef close to the shore to which it is attached, having a steep seaward edge

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fringing reef Scientific  

/ frĭn′jĭng /

1. A coral reef formed close to the shoreline of an island or continent. Fringing reefs usually have a rough, tablelike surface that is exposed during low tide and a steep edge sloping toward the open water.

2. Compare atoll barrier reef

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Etymology

Origin of fringing reef

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

The world's largest fringing reef and another of Australia's Unesco World Heritage Sites, it is home to a lush oceanic forest that spreads out along the coast for hundreds of kilometres.

From BBC • Jul. 22, 2025

Figure 18.8 The formation of a fringing reef, a barrier reef, and an atoll around a subsiding tropical volcanic island.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

On the way back to Nabwageta, Antioch took the wheel and steered Dalaï around the long fringing reef.

From New York Times • Sep. 28, 2011

Later that night, despite thick clouds and drizzling rain, Antioch’s men took our dinghy under the cover of total darkness and made their way behind the fringing reef and over toward Tuboa.

From New York Times • Sep. 28, 2011

We had driven on to a small inner reef—a portion, probably, of what was once the fringing reef of the continent.

From Twice Lost by Stanilard, C.J.