fringing reef
a coral reef close to and along the land.
Origin of fringing reef
1Words Nearby fringing reef
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use fringing reef in a sentence
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 NortonThe structure of the rocky accumulation in the encircling reefs and in the atolls is essentially the same as in the fringing reef.
Autobiography and Selected Essays | Thomas Henry HuxleyThe origin and mode of formation of a fringing reef, such as that just described, are plain enough.
Autobiography and Selected Essays | Thomas Henry HuxleyWe had driven on to a small inner reef—a portion, probably, of what was once the fringing reef of the continent.
Twice Lost | W.H.G. KingstonIn the first place, you perceive it forms a kind of fringe round the island, and is therefore called a "fringing reef."
Coral and Coral Reefs | Thomas H. Huxley
British Dictionary definitions for fringing reef
a coral reef close to the shore to which it is attached, having a steep seaward edge
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 fringing reef
[ frĭn′jĭng ]
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. Compare atoll barrier reef.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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