shoreline
Americannoun
noun
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.
Seizing Kharg Island and the islands near the mainland would require an amphibious landing on a contested shoreline, among “the hardest operations” a military can attempt, and one that Iran is almost certainly prepared for.
From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026
Protecting shipping, Gen. Clark concludes, means controlling the “whole shoreline, its people and the airspace above it.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
The remains were found 500-1000 km from the nearest ancient marine shoreline.
From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026
Litter pickers say they are "overwhelmed" by the amount of plastic they have found on the shoreline at Howar Sands in Sanday over the last few weeks.
From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026
They watched the shoreline close them in as Jerry negotiated the channel into St. Mikes.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
