shoal

/ʃoʊl/

/ʃəʊl/

Other forms: shoals; shoaled; shoaling

The noun shoal can be used to refer to a group of fish or an area of shallow water. So when you’re navigating a shoal in your row boat, you might look down and see a shoal of fish swimming out of the way.

If you like to fish, you might know that shoal can refer to shallow water, but it can also describe a sandbank that you can only see when the water is low. Both kinds of shoals are problems if you’re trying to navigate in a boat — you have to try not to run aground when you encounter either one. The word also has a verb form that describes water that gets shallow: it shoals.

Definitions of shoal

1. noun

   a stretch of shallow water
   synonyms: shallow

   type of:

   body of water, water

   the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean)
2. noun

   a sandbank in a stretch of water that is visible at low tide
   type of:

   sandbank

   a submerged bank of sand near a shore or in a river; can be exposed at low tide
3. noun

   a large group of fish
   synonyms: school

   type of:

   animal group

   a group of animals
4. verb

   become shallow
   synonyms: shallow

   type of:

   change

   undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
5. verb

   make shallow
   synonyms: shallow

   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation