shoal

[shohl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shoal ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a place where a sea, river, or other body of water is shallow.

a sandbank or sand bar in the bed of a body of water, especially one that is exposed above the surface of the water at low tide.

adjective

of little depth, as water; shallow.

verb (used without object)

to become shallow or more shallow.

verb (used with object)

to cause to become shallow.

Nautical. to sail so as to lessen the depth of (the water under a vessel).

Origin of shoal

before 900; (adj.) Middle English (Scots) shald, Old English sceald shallow; (noun and v.) derivative of the adj.

Synonyms for shoal

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shoal ON THESAURUS.COM

1. shallow, rapid, riffle. 2. reef.

shoal

[shohl]

noun

any large number of persons or things.

a school of fish.

verb (used without object)

to collect in a shoal; throng.

Origin of shoal

1570–80; earlier shole, probably < Middle Dutch, Middle Low German schōle, with sound-substitution of sh- for Low German skh-; cf. school²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shoal

Historical Examples of shoal

Shoal water, deep water, it seemed all the same to our fortunes.
The Forest
Stewart Edward White
She waded forward to where the shoal ended and the deeper part began.
The Woman-Haters
Joseph C. Lincoln
I'd ruther have 'em high-water than shoal in the middle of the channel.
The Rise of Roscoe Paine
Joseph C. Lincoln
I pushed with all my might and, slowly and jerkily, the dingy slid off the shoal.
The Rise of Roscoe Paine
Joseph C. Lincoln
We were being driven by the wind away from the shoal, but not fast enough.
The Rise of Roscoe Paine
Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for shoal

shoal

noun

a stretch of shallow water

a sandbank or rocky area in a stretch of water, esp one that is visible at low water

verb

to make or become shallow

(intr) nautical to sail into shallower water

adjective Also: shoaly

a less common word for shallow

nautical (of the draught of a vessel) drawing little water

Derived Formsshoaliness, noun

Word Origin for shoal

Old English sceald shallow

shoal

noun

a large group of certain aquatic animals, esp fish

a large group of people or things

verb

(intr) to collect together in such a group

Word Origin for shoal

Old English scolu; related to Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schōle school ²

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

Word Origin and History for shoal

n.1

"place of shallow water," c.1300, from Old English schealde (adj.), from sceald "shallow," from Proto-Germanic *skala- (cf. Swedish skäll "thin;" Low German schol, Frisian skol "not deep"), of uncertain origin. The terminal -d was dropped 16c.

n.2

"large number" (especially of fish), 1570s, apparently identical with Old English scolu "band, troop, crowd of fish" (see school (n.2)); but perhaps rather a 16c. adoption of cognate Middle Dutch schole.

"assemble in a multitude," c.1600, from shoal (n.2). Related: Shoaled; shoaling.

Science definitions for shoal