Dictionary.com

QUIZZES

LEARN THE SPANISH WORDS FOR THESE COMMON ANIMALS!

Are you learning Spanish? Or do you just have an interest in foreign languages? Either way, this quiz on Spanish words for animals is for you.
Question 1 of 13
How do you say “cat” 🐈 in Spanish?
gato/gata
cato/cata
gatto/gatta
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of shoal

1
before 900; (adj.) Middle English (Scots ) shald,Old English scealdshallow; (noun and v.) derivative of the adj.

Definition for shoal (2 of 2)

shoal2
[ shohl ]
/ ʃoʊl /

noun

any large number of persons or things.
a school of fish: a shoal of herring;a shoal of mackerel.

verb (used without object)

to collect in a shoal; throng.

Origin of shoal

2
First recorded in 1570–80; earlier shole, probably from 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. 2021

Words related to shoal

reef, bar, shallow, mass, bank, sandbank

Example sentences from the Web for shoal

British Dictionary definitions for shoal (1 of 2)

shoal1
/ (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 forms of shoal

shoaliness, noun

Word Origin for shoal

Old English sceald shallow

British Dictionary definitions for shoal (2 of 2)

shoal2
/ (ʃəʊl) /

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

Scientific definitions for shoal

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.