Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

sandbank

American  
[sand-bangk] / ˈsændˌbæŋk /
Or sand bank

noun

  1. a large mass of sand, as on a shoal or hillside.

sandbank British  
/ ˈsændˌbæŋk /

noun

  1. a submerged bank of sand in a sea or river, that may be exposed at low tide

"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 sandbank

First recorded in 1580–90; sand + bank 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 marine mammal, which is stuck on a sandbank, was first spotted in Lübeck Bay on Monday.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

A rusting cargo ship now lies stranded on a sandbank in the blue lagoon, where only a handful of fishing boats float around.

From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026

The stricken vessel was later found on a sandbank.

From Barron's • Jan. 2, 2026

The 1,300-tonne ship set sail from Portsmouth to Bengal and China in 1805 but during a storm it struck a sandbank and floundered about a mile off the shores of Weymouth.

From BBC • Aug. 14, 2024

I walked through tall grasses up a sandbank to a stand of pawpaw trees with clusters of fruit and climbed up the thickest trunk.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

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.