estuary

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noun es·tu·ary \ˈes-chə-ˌwer-ē, ˈesh-\

Definition of estuary

plural

estuaries

: a water passage where the tide meets a river current; especially : an arm of the sea at the lower end of a river

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Examples of estuary in a Sentence

the city sits on the shores of a deep estuary where the Hudson River meets the Atlantic Ocean

Recent Examples of estuary from the Web

The lengthy documents, known as biological opinions, represent a pivotal point for the project, which would burrow a pair of 35-mile-long tunnels beneath the Delta in an effort to re-engineer the way water flows through the fragile estuary.

— dale kasler and ryan sabalow, sacbee, "‘Huge milestone’ for Delta tunnels – feds say they won’t push fish over the brink", 26 June 2017
Maryland and Virginia are ahead of Pennsylvania in work to reduce Chesapeake Bay pollution, but runoff from farms and urban areas continues to plague the estuary, according to a new report from environmentalists.

— scott dance, baltimoresun.com, "Maryland, Virginia on track with Chesapeake cleanup goals; Pennsylvania lags", 22 June 2017
As the story opens, the people of Aldwinter are wondering whether an earthquake has loosed their old monster from the estuary depths.

— sarah perry, Philly.com, "'Essex Serpent': Mythical monster, remarkable heroine", 16 June 2017
Sediment diversions are a new and largely untested method of channeling river water rich in silt, sand and other sediments and into estuary environments that have been cut off from these land-building and land-restoring inputs.

— tristan baurick, NOLA.com, "River diversions can help wetlands, but what about shrimpers, fishers and wildlife?", 15 June 2017
The whales typically hang out in the estuaries in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the summer, catching fish and socializing.

— angela fritz, Washington Post, "This beluga whale is stranded in a river, so rescuers are hatching a plan to relocate it", 14 June 2017
Of the original 200,000 acres of marsh that ringed the bay, only about 40,000 were left by 1999, when a group of scientists produced studies showing that another 60,000 acres had to be put back over the next 50 years to maintain a healthy estuary.

— National Geographic, "How the Bay Area Is Restoring Nature's Delicate Balance", 13 June 2017
Most of this 574-acre nature preserve is located inland, south of U.S. 6, one of Ohio's best remaining examples of a natural estuary (a transition zone between land and water).

— cleveland.com, "Top 10 beaches for nature lovers on Ohio's Lake Erie coast (plus one in Pennsylvania)", 11 June 2017
As the story opens, the good people of Aldwinter are wondering whether an earthquake has unloosed their old monster from the estuary depths.

— ron charles, The Denver Post, "The most delightful heroine since Elizabeth Bennet", 8 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'estuary'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

A partly enclosed coastal body of water in which river water is mixed with seawater is called an estuary. An estuary is thus defined by salinity rather than geography. Many coastal features designated by other names are in fact estuaries (for instance, Chesapeake Bay). Some of the oldest continuous civilizations have flourished in estuarine environments (for example, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Nile delta, and the Ganges delta). Cities such as London (Thames River), New York (Hudson River), and Montreal (St. Lawrence River) developed on estuaries and became important commercial centers.