sandbar

American  

[sand-bahr] / ˈsændˌbɑr /

Or sand bar

noun

1. a bar of sand formed in a river or sea by the action of tides or currents.

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sandbar Scientific  

/ sănd′bär′ /

1. A long mass or low ridge of submerged or partially exposed sand built up in the water along a shore or beach by the action of waves or currents.

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Etymology

Origin of sandbar

First recorded in 1760–70

Explanation

A sandbar is a long ridge of sand that's either underwater or rising just above the surface. When sailors are navigating close to the shore, they have to watch out for sandbars. Sandbars form in rivers and oceans when moving water pushes sand or sediment up into a long, narrow slope. These natural formations are often submerged, which can make them hazardous for boats. During low tide, some ocean sandbars become exposed and provide a safe, dry way to walk out to a nearby island — at least until the tide comes in and the sandbar vanishes under the waves again.

Example Sentences

Covering four representative species—the great white, the sandbar, the small-spotted catshark and the spiny dogfish—Daniel C. Abel and Sophie A. Maycock deliver breadth without sacrificing depth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

A festival on a sandbar brought 90 minutes of merriment to hundreds of people in the Isles of Scilly.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2025

Bar push is caused when deposition on the inside of a bend forms a sandbar, which pushes the curve outward.

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2024

The original Terminal Island had been nothing more than a glorified sandbar known as Rattlesnake Island, named for the animals that washed into the harbor during heavy rains.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2024

After traveling some distance south, he beached the canoe on a sandbar far from shore to observe the powerful tides.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• reef
• shoal