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

See Examples For:

sandbar

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

The two-year-old female calf had been stuck in the tidal lagoon after her pregnant mother was stranded and later died on a sandbar.

From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2024

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

Police and wildlife officials began trying to free the male whale from the shallow sandbar off the beach in Venice on Sunday morning.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 11, 2024

I stood at the side, staring into the water near the tip of the sandbar.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings

Related Words

• reef
• shoal