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:
Cruise travelers visiting Maine might not realize that when their deep-drafted ships steer clear of the craggy shoreline, they avoid more than hidden hazards—they also miss much of what’s special.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
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
In Rhode Island, rising sea levels, erosion and a centuries-long debate over shoreline access have made coastal development a lightning rod.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
The habitat will be created by installing low barriers made out of materials like sticks in the water near the shoreline, to help mud build up and encourage plants to grow.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
The three men followed the shoreline, past a cove where an old fishing pier jutted into the water.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
By examining PCF debris collected from shorelines across Japan, they found that very little fertilizer plastic returns to land through rivers.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 19, 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
But back on the sand, surf camps — long mainstays of Santa Monica Bay’s shorelines — are suffering this summer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 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.
