shore1
/ʃɔː
/noun
1The land along the edge of a sea, lake, or other large body of water: I made for the shore...
- Eight holes are along the shores of Lake Michigan and strong winds could be a major factor in the event.
- Well, it's overcast and windy along the shores of Lake Michigan and Eastern Wisconsin.
- She could hear the soft lapping of the lake water on its shores, and the rustle of the breeze through the leaves of the trees.
Synonyms
seashore, seaside, beach, coast, coastal region, seaboard, sea coast, bank, lakeside, verge, edge, shoreline, waterside, front, shoreside, foreshore, sand, sands
technical littoral
literary strand
1.1 Law The land between ordinary high- and low-water marks.
1.2 (usually shores) A country or other geographic area bounded by a coast: record companies have been anxious to import the music to American shores...
- Each of the huge rafters had been carved from a single tree, and old tombstones told tales of deaths on distant shores as, indeed, they did in Kochi's St. Francis Church.
- At 26, Wilder arrived on American shores with just $11 in his pocket, and from that moment on, he lived his life in English.
- Plant hunters were bringing exotic new species from distant shores and their finds prompted extreme security measures such as man-traps.
Phrases
in shore
on shore
Derivatives
shoreless
- The lake has been rendered shoreless with the wreckage of a major avalanche.
- They are close to a large shoreless lake.
- Speaking about security and the fight against terrorism, the president said, ‘Every success against the terrorists is a reminder of the shoreless ambitions of this enemy.’
shoreward
- The instructions are to turn shoreward with the wall on my right, heading into the reef.
- Otherwise you might be swimming in the impact zone while watching your board bound shoreward in the white water.
- These data demonstrate that a relaxing upwelling front can transport high concentrations of larvae shoreward over the inner shelf.
shorewards
- In Sydney, the captain of the HMS Calcutta (the naval transport that had established the colony in Port Phillip a few months earlier) turned its guns shorewards, which probably had some deterrent effect.
- The waves peeled shorewards unridden, as they have for aeons.
- From this point, descend into 12m of water, swim shorewards with the cliff on your left, and within a few minutes you will be inside the rock.
Origin
Middle English: from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German schōre; perhaps related to the verb shear.
Rhymes
shore2
/ʃɔː/noun
A prop or beam set obliquely against something weak or unstable as a support.
verb [with object] (shore something up)
1Support or hold up something with props or beams: rescue workers had to shore up the building, which was in danger of collapse...
- Centuries ago in China, workers buried adobe blocks to shore up buildings.
- The first phase of restoration, which was completed two years ago, shored up the brick masonry on the northeast corner.
- There was a host of tasks, from shoring up the fire escape to re-wiring to new windows.
Synonyms
prop up, hold up, bolster up, support, brace, buttress, strengthen, fortify, reinforce, underpin, truss, stay
archaic underprop
1.1Support or assist something that would otherwise fail or decline: Congress approved a $700 billion plan to shore up the financial industry...
- Widespread opposition to a proposed Afghan law is less about liberating women than shoring up Western authority.
- An awful lot of your money being used to shore up Bank of America.
- The English have made a host of changes, primarily to shore up their defence.
Origin
Middle English: from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German schore 'prop', of unknown origin.
shore3
/ʃɔː/ Archaic past of shear.