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Showing results for inshore. Search instead for On+shore.
Synonyms

inshore

American  
[in-shawr, -shohr] / ˈɪnˈʃɔr, -ˈʃoʊr /

adjective

  1. close or closer to the shore.

  2. lying near the shore; operating or carried on close to the shore.

    inshore fishing.

adverb

  1. toward the shore.

    They went closer inshore.
inshore British  
/ ˈɪnˈʃɔː /

adjective

  1. in or on the water, but close to the shore

    inshore weather
"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

adverb

  1. towards the shore from the water

    an inshore wind

    we swam inshore
"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

Etymology

Origin of inshore

First recorded in 1695–1705; in- 1 + shore 1

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.

The voice belonged to Scott Brown, a crew member on the D-class inshore lifeboat that had been searching for Mandy after receiving multiple 999 calls.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

Three of New Zealand’s eight navy ships—two offshore patrol vessels and one inshore patrol vessel—were mothballed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

On our flight the pilots warned us they would drop the containers over the sea, but the southwesterly breeze would drift them back inshore.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2024

“It can be really deceptive when you see a lot inshore and you see bluefish nipping at menhaden in the fall.”

From Slate • Feb. 4, 2024

Even among fishes that range widely in coastal waters, many depend upon protected inshore areas to serve as nursery and feeding grounds for their young.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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.