shoreline
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of shoreline
Explanation
The shoreline is the place where a large body of water, like an ocean, lake, or river, meets the land. There are a lot of fun beaches along the Atlantic shoreline. You can use the noun shoreline to talk about the strip that marks the boundary between land and water, whether it's at the edge of an ocean, sea, lake, or river. While the word "coast" refers specifically to the ocean, shoreline or shore can be used for any body of water. The word was first coined in the mid-1800's by geographers, and its root is the Germanic schor, "shore, coast, or headland."
Vocabulary lists containing shoreline
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But when it comes to predicting cliff collapses along California’s iconic shoreline, the science has been infamously tricky to pin down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
The human urge to build right to the shoreline — whether it’s the coastal highway or a bluff-top home — also affects erosion by altering water drainage and adding weight to the cliff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
“They’re armoring the shoreline with rocks and cement walls, sometimes without permits. And Quidnessett is the poster child.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Others say the shoreline activists need to take a deep breath.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
The ocean retreated, exposing the bones of the shoreline.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
The sun hangs in the middle of the sky as I drive toward one of the most rapidly changing shorelines in California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
Thomas Quarry I sits within the raised coastal formations of the Rabat-Casablanca littoral, an area internationally recognized for its remarkably complete record of Plio-Pleistocene shorelines, dunes, and cave systems.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 7, 2026
People lingering at night along the shorelines of a small, affluent city north of Miami have been startled lately when they look up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025
From its sun-drenched interiors and sweeping views to its resort-style outdoor spaces and unmatched location, every corner of this estate celebrates the art of lakeside living along one of North Carolina’s most treasured shorelines.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 20, 2025
A tugboat made its way down the river, causing the water to crash into the rocks along the shorelines.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
