shoal

1 of 5

adjective

ˈshōl 

: shallow

shoal

2 of 5

noun (1)

1

: shallow

2

: a sandbank or sandbar that makes the water shallow

shoal

3 of 5

verb (1)

shoaled; shoaling; shoals

intransitive verb

: to become shallow

transitive verb

1

: to come to a shallow or less deep part of

2

: to cause to become shallow or less deep

shoal

4 of 5

noun (2)

: a large group or number : crowd

a shoal of fish

shoal

5 of 5

verb (2)

shoaled; shoaling; shoals

intransitive verb

: throng, school

Synonyms

Adjective

• depthless
• shallow

Noun (1)

• ford
• shallow(s)

Examples of shoal in a Sentence

Adjective

shoal waters of the bay meant that our ship had to be moored a considerable distance from shore

Noun (1)

the shoals off Nantucket Island are famous as the final resting places of many ill-fated ships

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

These handsome shoaling fish have brilliant black and white vertical stripes. —Grrlscientist, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024

They were designed to ferry enormous loads in their holds, up and down the Thames and its nearby rivers and estuaries, in shallow, shoaling waters, subject to notorious tides and nervous wind. —William Booth, Washington Post, 24 July 2023

Noun

Powell was talking about Montgomery Reef—a sandstone and dolomite shoal 12 miles from shore that the changing tide reveals and conceals each day—which David Attenborough has called one of the greatest natural wonders in the world. —Erin Florio, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Nov. 2024

The Democratic Party, particularly, is prone to shipwrecking on the shoals of unretiring seniors. —Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

alteration of Middle English shold, from Old English sceald — more at skeleton

Noun (2)

Middle English *shole, from Old English scolu multitude — more at school

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1554, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1574, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (2)

1579, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1610, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

shoal

1 of 3 adjective

ˈshōl 

: shallow entry 1 sense 1

shoal water

shoal

2 of 3 noun

1

: a place where a sea, lake, or river is shallow

2

: a sandbank or sandbar just below the surface of the water

shoal

3 of 3 noun

: school entry 3

a shoal of pilot fish

Etymology

Adjective

Old English sceald "shallow"

Noun

Old English scolu "great number"