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.
Since gas prices started going up, Shoreline, Wash., resident Kevin Nelson has been biking to his job at a theater, which is 1.6 miles from his house.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 28, 2026
The Times spoke with Southern California natives — rappers Shoreline Mafia, electro-punk duo Kumo 99, nu-gaze trio Julie and garage rockers Together Pangea — about how they are gearing up for the three-day desert festival.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2025
Snell, 32, was born and raised near Seattle and was a first-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays out of Shorewood High School in Shoreline, Wash., in 2011.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2025
Outside the Shoreline Fuel Mart, the cracked and brittle peanut gathered moss and slowly rotted from the inside.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2025
He paused to chat while walking his little white poodle in the city’s Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline Park.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 24, 2024
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.
