Definition of SHOAL

shoal

Plural: shoals

Noun

  • a sandbank in a stretch of water that is visible at low tide
  • a stretch of shallow water
  • a large group of fish
  • A sandbank or sandbar creating a shallow.
  • A shallow in a body of water.
  • Any large number of persons or things.
  • A large number of fish (or other sea creatures) of the same species swimming together.

Verb

Verb Forms: shoaler, shoalest, shoaled, shoaling, shoals

  • To become shallow or cause to become shallow.
  • make shallow
  • become shallow
  • To arrive at a shallow (or less deep) area.
  • To cause a shallowing; to come to a more shallow part of.
  • To become shallow.
  • To collect in a shoal; to throng.

Adj

  • Shallow.

Adjective

  • Having little depth; shallow.

Examples

  • Her word choices were SHOAL, never venturing beyond three-letter words, yet she still won.
  • shoal water
  • The colour of the water shows where it shoals.
  • The fish shoaled about the place.
  • The river began to SHOAL, making it harder for the theoretical boat to navigate.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English schold, scholde, from Old English sċeald (“shallow”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *skalidaz, past participle of *skaljaną (“to go dry, dry up, become shallow”), from *skalaz (“parched, shallow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to dry out”). Cognate with Low German Scholl (“shallow water”), German schal (“stale, flat, vapid”). Compare shallow.

Scrabble Score: 8

shoal: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
shoal: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
shoal: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 8

shoal: valid Words With Friends Word