shoal

[shohl]

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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).

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

Related Words for shoaling

load, lade, clog, crowd, supply, swell, saturate, block, permeate, stuff, store, close, cram, overflow, top, furnish, pack, satisfy, impregnate, glut

Examples from the Web for shoaling

Historical Examples of shoaling

As soon as they found that the water was shoaling, they would anchor.
Rollo on the Atlantic
Jacob Abbott
I then helped the squire to walk up the shoaling beach, out of the river.
Down The River
Oliver Optic
"The water's shoaling rapidly, sir," repeated the second lieutenant.
The Dealings of Captain Sharkey
A. Conan Doyle
It would also appear that since Captain King's survey the water has been shoaling hereabouts.
Narrative Of The Voyage Of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By The Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During The Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries And Surveys In New Guinea, The Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. To Which Is Added The Account Of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition For The Exploration Of The Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist To The Expedition. In Two Volumes. Volume 1.
John MacGillivray
The shoaling indicated by a sounding of 310 fathoms taken in Lat.
The North Pole
Robert E. Peary

British Dictionary definitions for shoaling

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 shoaling

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.

shoal

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

shoaling in Science

shoal

[shōl]

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