shoal

[ shohl ]

/ ʃoʊl /

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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).

Nearby words

Origin of shoal

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

SYNONYMS FOR shoal

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

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shoal

[ shohl ]

/ ʃoʊl /

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

He had made up his mind to sail the brig in and risk the hazards of shoal water.
Blackbeard: Buccaneer|Ralph D. Paine
So that, between this latitude and Shoal Ness, in latitude 60°, the coast is entirely unexplored.
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16|Robert Kerr
Leaning over the edge of the rock, he saw a shoal of tiny fishes playing hide-and-seek in the eddies of the stream.
Harper's Young People, April 26, 1881|Various
The weather being bad, it was not without great difficulty that the fleet, which had got into shoal water, could work off again.
How Britannia Came to Rule the Waves|W.H.G. Kingston

“I always come below and put my feet on the table after we pass the Shoal of Seals,” he explained.
The Pony Rider Boys in Alaska|Frank Gee Patchin

British Dictionary definitions for shoal

shoal

/ (ʃəʊl) /

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

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

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.

shoal

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