rip current

noun

: a strong usually narrow surface current flowing outward from a shore that results from the return flow of waves and wind-driven water

Examples of rip current in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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There is a moderate risk of rip currents at all area beaches. Garfield Hylton, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 May 2025 The force can carve a trench into the sand below you and create a rip current, a fast-moving channel of water that will haul your unsuspecting ass out to sea. Ryan Knighton, AFAR Media, 12 May 2025 What To Know Several drownings have already occurred this season because of rip currents, including a 17-year-old boy who died on April 14 after being swept away in a rip current at Lake Worth Beach in Palm Beach County. Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Apr. 2025 What is a rip current Rip currents form when waves crash at the shore, creating water currents that flow away from a beach’s edge, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rip current

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rip current was in 1936

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Cite this Entry

“Rip current.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rip%20current. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

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