as in dunes
a raised area of sand with a top that is near or just above the surface of the water in an ocean, lake, or river
We walked out onto the sandbar at low tide.
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Recent Examples of sandbars
Guides such as Eggleston place observers on sandbars at least 150 feet from the charismatic carnivores.
—
Susan Portnoy, AFAR Media, 3 Oct. 2025
One man aboard the boat knew how to navigate the mangroves and sandbars of the keys, and with the late summer sun beating down on the rafters, the boat pushed out feebly into the open ocean.
—Miriam Pensack, The Dial, 30 Sep. 2025
River shorelines and sandbars pose unseen dangers.
—Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Rip currents are more likely to develop when a coastline is more complex, in terms of either the visible shore—a feature such as a jetty or a rocky point can trigger rip currents—or the underwater topography of sandbars that raise the ocean floor.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 19 Aug. 2025
By afternoon, the tide reveals hidden sandbars perfect for wading toward the horizon—where sea and sky melt in endless sapphire.
—Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Susan Portnoy, AFAR Media, 3 Oct. 2025
One man aboard the boat knew how to navigate the mangroves and sandbars of the keys, and with the late summer sun beating down on the rafters, the boat pushed out feebly into the open ocean.
—Miriam Pensack, The Dial, 30 Sep. 2025
River shorelines and sandbars pose unseen dangers.
—Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Rip currents are more likely to develop when a coastline is more complex, in terms of either the visible shore—a feature such as a jetty or a rocky point can trigger rip currents—or the underwater topography of sandbars that raise the ocean floor.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 19 Aug. 2025
By afternoon, the tide reveals hidden sandbars perfect for wading toward the horizon—where sea and sky melt in endless sapphire.
—Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sandbars
Noun
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Many travelers opt to take a four-wheeler down the Sand Highway, a one-way trail into a canyon on the boundary of the dunes, and the South Boundary Trail, which winds along the eastern side of the main dune area.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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On a hike along the Aletch Glacier—the longest and, in my opinion, most beautiful in Europe-–I stood over an ant-sized family with two young children crossing where the glacier runs a mile-wide and the ice rises so high, you could get lost between ridges.—
Anna Fiorentino,
Travel + Leisure,
23 Oct. 2025
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By analyzing tree rings from across the Northern Hemisphere, scientists reconstructed the long-term history of an atmospheric phenomenon known as a locked wave-5 jet stream pattern — where the jet stream forms five wavy ridges and troughs around the planet.—
Hayleigh Evans,
AZCentral.com,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Family, friends and spectators line the embankments, looking down from pedestrian bridges and the underpasses, holding up signs and cheering.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
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Scruton and his team had a weekend to remove the trees, mud, dirt and embankments.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The shoals attract diving gannets and orcas.—
David Greig
September 15,
Literary Hub,
15 Sep. 2025
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Also of note is the Landsford Canal State Park in May or June, when the riverside is covered in rocky shoals spider lilies.—
Jennifer Prince,
Southern Living,
23 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sandbars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sandbars. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
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