shoal

1
[ shohl ]
See synonyms for: shoalshoaledshoalershoalest on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a place where a sea, river, or other body of water is shallow: The clams and mussels gathered from these shoals are the best you’ll ever find.

  2. a sandbank or sandbar in the bed of a body of water, especially one that is exposed above the surface of the water at low tide.

adjective
  1. of little depth, as water; shallow: The first thing these newcomers do is buy a boat and promptly get stuck in the shoal waters, which they know nothing about.

verb (used without object)
  1. to become shallow or more shallow: The river significantly shoals between the old stone bridge and the bend at Tuttle’s Crossing.

verb (used with object)
  1. to cause to become shallow: Shoaling the approach has effectively kept the larger vessels out of our small harbor.

  2. Nautical. to sail so as to lessen the depth of (the water under a vessel).

Origin of shoal

1
First recorded before 900; (for the adjective) Middle English shold(e), Old English sceald shallow; noun and verb derivative of the adjective

Other words for shoal

Words Nearby shoal

Other definitions for shoal (2 of 2)

shoal2
[ shohl ]

noun
  1. any large number of persons or things.

  2. a school of fish: a shoal of herring;a shoal of mackerel.

verb (used without object)
  1. to collect in a shoal; throng.

Origin of shoal

2
First recorded in 1570–80; earlier shole, probably from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German schōle, with sound-substitution of sh- for Low German skh-;cf. school2

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use shoal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shoal (1 of 2)

shoal1

/ (ʃəʊl) /


noun
  1. a stretch of shallow water

  2. a sandbank or rocky area in a stretch of water, esp one that is visible at low water

verb
  1. to make or become shallow

  2. (intr) nautical to sail into shallower water

adjectiveAlso: shoaly
  1. a less common word for shallow

  2. nautical (of the draught of a vessel) drawing little water

Origin of shoal

1
Old English sceald shallow

Derived forms of shoal

  • shoaliness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for shoal (2 of 2)

shoal2

/ (ʃəʊl) /


noun
  1. a large group of certain aquatic animals, esp fish

  2. a large group of people or things

verb
  1. (intr) to collect together in such a group

Origin of shoal

2
Old English scolu; related to Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schōle school ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for shoal

shoal

[ shōl ]


  1. A submerged mound or ridge of sediment in a body of shallow water.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.