shoal
1a 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.
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.
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.
to become shallow or more shallow: The river significantly shoals between the old stone bridge and the bend at Tuttle’s Crossing.
to cause to become shallow: Shoaling the approach has effectively kept the larger vessels out of our small harbor.
Nautical. to sail so as to lessen the depth of (the water under a vessel).
Origin of shoal
1Other words for shoal
Other definitions for shoal (2 of 2)
any large number of persons or things.
a school of fish: a shoal of herring;a shoal of mackerel.
to collect in a shoal; throng.
Origin of shoal
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use shoal in a sentence
This shoaling has rendered continuous dredging necessary at every harbour on the lake west of Erie, Pa.
When near the bank, and in shoaling water, we saw the objects rise, until three Indians and three ponies stood revealed.
Captured by the Navajos | Charles A. CurtisShoaling of water by accumulation of sediment would permit the development of more swamp plant life.
Geology | William J. MillerIt was not high, because the tide was falling and the water shoaling fast, but it broke angrily and the air was thick with spray.
Johnstone of the Border | Harold Bindloss"The water's shoaling rapidly, sir," repeated the second lieutenant.
The Dealings of Captain Sharkey | A. Conan Doyle
British Dictionary definitions for shoal (1 of 2)
/ (ʃəʊl) /
a stretch of shallow water
a sandbank or rocky area in a stretch of water, esp one that is visible at low water
to make or become shallow
(intr) nautical to sail into shallower water
a less common word for shallow
nautical (of the draught of a vessel) drawing little water
Origin of shoal
1Derived forms of shoal
- shoaliness, noun
British Dictionary definitions for shoal (2 of 2)
/ (ʃəʊl) /
a large group of certain aquatic animals, esp fish
a large group of people or things
(intr) to collect together in such a group
Origin of shoal
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for shoal
[ shōl ]
A submerged mound or ridge of sediment in a body of shallow water.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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