nearshore

American  

[neer-shawr] / ˈnɪərˌʃɔr /

adjective

1. extending from or occurring along a shore.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. (of a company or organization) to move offshored jobs or business activities from a distant country to a country that is much closer to the home territory.

   Recent plans to nearshore our distribution activities have been favorably received.

   Several Australian business owners have nearshored from China to Vanuatu.

nearshore Scientific  

/ nîr′shôr′ /

1. The region of land extending between the backshore, or shoreline, and the beginning of the offshore zone. Water depth in this area is usually less than 10 m (33 ft).

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Other Word Forms

• nearshoring
  noun

Etymology

Origin of nearshore

First recorded in 1895–1900; near + shore ¹

Example Sentences

Lonza should benefit from drugmakers’ increasing moves to outsource and nearshore production, according to Vontobel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 2025

A concrete bulkhead like this one increases wave erosion, starves the beach for upland sediment, and destroys beach spawning habitat for forage fish and the larger nearshore environment for salmon.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 12, 2024

“A few degrees of warming of nearshore and offshore water temperatures means that there’s more moisture in that lower atmosphere.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2024

New research revealed a daily pattern wherein whales move their singing away from shore throughout the day and return to the nearshore in the evening.

From Science Daily • Jan. 24, 2024

In the southern portions of their range from at least North Carolina southward, the majority are found nearshore and often enter bays and lagoons, and sometimes venture up the larger rivers.

From Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic A Guide to Their Identification by Caldwell, David