shoal

¹ American  

[shohl] / ʃoʊl /

noun

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

   The clams and mussels gathered from these shoals are the best you’ll ever find.

   Synonyms:

   ford, shallow(s)

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

   Synonyms:

   reef

---

adjective

1. of little depth, as water; shallow.

   The first thing these newcomers do is buy a boat and promptly get stuck in the shoal waters, which they know nothing about.

verb (used without object)

1. to become shallow or more shallow.

   The river significantly shoals between the old stone bridge and the bend at Tuttle’s Crossing.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to become shallow.

   Shoaling the approach has effectively kept the larger vessels out of our small harbor.

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

shoal ² American  

[shohl] / ʃoʊl /

noun

1. any large number of persons or things.

2. a school of fish.

   a shoal of herring;

   a shoal of mackerel.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to collect in a shoal; throng.

shoal ¹ British  

/ ʃəʊl /

noun

1. a stretch of shallow water

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

---

verb

1. to make or become shallow

2. (intr) nautical to sail into shallower water

adjective

1. a less common word for shallow

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

shoal ² British  

/ ʃəʊl /

noun

1. a large group of certain aquatic animals, esp fish

2. a large group of people or things

---

verb

1. (intr) to collect together in such a group

shoal Scientific  

/ shōl /

1. A submerged mound or ridge of sediment in a body of shallow water.

---

Other Word Forms

• shoaliness noun

Etymology

Origin of shoal¹

First recorded before 900; (for the adjective) Middle English shold(e), Old English sceald shallow; noun and verb derivative of the adjective

Origin of shoal²

First recorded in 1570–80; earlier shole, probably from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German schōle, with sound-substitution of sh- for Low German skh-; school ²

Explanation

The noun shoal can be used to refer to a group of fish or an area of shallow water. So when you’re navigating a shoal in your row boat, you might look down and see a shoal of fish swimming out of the way. If you like to fish, you might know that shoal can refer to shallow water, but it can also describe a sandbank that you can only see when the water is low. Both kinds of shoals are problems if you’re trying to navigate in a boat — you have to try not to run aground when you encounter either one. The word also has a verb form that describes water that gets shallow: it shoals.

Example Sentences

And in August, a Chinese navy vessel collided with one from its own coast guard while chasing a Philippine patrol boat near the same shoal.

From Barron's • Oct. 12, 2025

Authorities sent the Teresa Magbuana to Sabina in April as part of a prolonged presence they plan to maintain at the shoal.

From BBC • Aug. 27, 2024

The shoal, which is less than 200 nautical miles from the Philippine coastline, is home to a crumbling warship, the Sierra Madre.

From New York Times • Jun. 17, 2024

Years ago, hundreds of feet down, he drove a submersible through a shoal of lanternfish so big and dense, it was impossible for the sub’s sonar to gauge its size.

From National Geographic • Feb. 13, 2024

The police on the bridge gathered like a shoal of fish and began shedding their plain clothes costumes.

From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat

Related Words

• reef