as in banks
a place where a body of water (as a sea or river) is shallow
didn't attempt getting the horses across the stream until we had reached the ford
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Recent Examples of fords
Stirling’s forces surrounded the unprepared Aboriginal people, taking positions across the river and at the fords above and below the camp.
—
Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Apr. 2026
Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fords
Noun
-
This includes calls that appear to come from banks or the Internal Revenue Service.—
Mike Winters,
CNBC,
9 May 2026
-
The latter held Leo in particular high regard thanks to its association with the flooding of the river Nile, as the sun shone close to the constellation as the waterway broke its banks each year, according to EarthSky.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
Rose Island Lighthouse stands on a rocky heap of land in Narragansett Bay, guiding ships away from the shallow shoals of Newport Harbor.—
Madeline Bilis,
Travel + Leisure,
3 May 2026
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As a result, the wide, shallow bay, with its lacework of shoals and basins, grows hot and hypersaline, killing seagrass, fueling algae blooms and hurting the economy of the Keys.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Thawing ice along a riverbank, the shallows capturing the reflection of one of the grandchildren; the burning flame of a wick disappearing into a birthday cake; the deep, dark tunnel of a fleeting set of train tracks, as piercing as the endless blue eyes of the toddler in the diptych beside it.—
Casey Cep,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
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Conditions are best in the morning before the wind picks up—and visibility is often strong enough to see schools moving through the shallows, along with stingrays and smaller reef species near the edges.—
Jessica Chapel,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fords.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fords. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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