barrier island
a broadened barrier beach, habitable in places, that provides a measure of protection for the mainland, as during hurricanes and tidal waves.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use barrier island in a sentence
Long Beach, it should be noted, is a narrow barrier island three feet above sea level and prone to flooding.
The Little barrier island, though possessing no harbour, has several yachting anchorages.
Yachting Vol. 2 | Various.He did not visit the barrier island or the Laguna Madre de Tamaulipas.
Vertebrates from the Barrier Island of Tamaulipas, Mxico | Robert K SelanderDr. Marshall Johnston kindly identified specimens of plants from the barrier island.
Vertebrates from the Barrier Island of Tamaulipas, Mxico | Robert K SelanderThis subspecies is presumably confined in distribution to the barrier island of Tamaulipas.
Vertebrates from the Barrier Island of Tamaulipas, Mxico | Robert K Selander
This species has not been reported previously from the barrier island of Tamaulipas.
Vertebrates from the Barrier Island of Tamaulipas, Mxico | Robert K Selander
Scientific definitions for barrier island
[ băr′ē-ər ]
A long, narrow sand island that is parallel to the mainland and serves to protect the coast from erosion. Barrier islands typically have dunes along the exposed outer side, zones of vegetation in the interior, and swampy areas along the inner lagoon.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for barrier island
Any low sandy island that is parallel to the mainland and protects it from storms. (See Cape Hatteras.)
Notes for barrier island
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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