as in shallow
lacking significant physical depth
shoal waters of the bay meant that our ship had to be moored a considerable distance from shore
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Recent Examples of shoal
Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 20 Jan. 2026
An emergency dredging is not needed to clear a hazardous shoal that’s developed at the Oceanside harbor entrance, though the annual dredging could be scheduled earlier than usual next spring, a federal official said Tuesday.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Dec. 2025
Theories range from the Edmund Fitzgerald striking a shoal and suffering bottom damage to flooding through the freighter's hatch covers, which filled the ship with water and sank it, to rogue waves, to structural flaws in the ship that the 1975 storm made deadly.
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 9 Nov. 2025
The debris appears as a large cloud of dirty water seen beyond the shoals off Montego Bay.
—Avery Schmitz, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shoal
Noun
The park service first documented zebra mussels during a training dive at the SS Sevona shipwreck off the Sand Island shoal in 2015.
—Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 20 Jan. 2026
An emergency dredging is not needed to clear a hazardous shoal that’s developed at the Oceanside harbor entrance, though the annual dredging could be scheduled earlier than usual next spring, a federal official said Tuesday.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Dec. 2025
Theories range from the Edmund Fitzgerald striking a shoal and suffering bottom damage to flooding through the freighter's hatch covers, which filled the ship with water and sank it, to rogue waves, to structural flaws in the ship that the 1975 storm made deadly.
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 9 Nov. 2025
The debris appears as a large cloud of dirty water seen beyond the shoals off Montego Bay.
—Avery Schmitz, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shoal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoal
Adjective
-
If the topsoil isn't very deep on part of the lawn due to shallow tree roots popping up there, add 1/4 inch of topsoil.—
David Beaulieu,
The Spruce,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Arrange ribs in shallow bowls, over mashed potatoes if desired, and spoon sauce over.—
Jenny Rosenstrach,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Set the scene Set back from Via del Corso, one of Rome’s main arteries, this former noble palazzo, the 15th-century Palazzo Salviati Cesi Mellini, was also a bank before its present incarnation.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Carter presented Roosevelt with the deed for about 700,000 acres on the northern bank of the Rio Grande.—
Letters to the Editor,
Washington Post,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shoal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoal. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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