as in banks
a place where a body of water (as a sea or river) is shallow
the shoals off Nantucket Island are famous as the final resting places of many ill-fated ships
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Recent Examples of shoals
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
Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoals
Noun
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The Transportation Security Administration and Federal Aviation Administration have been flagging devices like portable power banks, laptops and cell phones for a while, urging travelers to carry them on board instead of checking them with their bags.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
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In 1943, when the Mississippi tore away from its banks and charted a fierce and muddy course across America’s central farmlands, Gerard’s grandfather, Harold Gerard, had already fled the waters once.—
Julia Rendleman,
ProPublica,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The next year on the housewives’ Florida trip, though, Gina got so wound up by the thought of sharks and whales lurking in the shallows that when a l’il sharky actually showed up she was reduced to a shaking, crying mess.—
Peter Larsen,
Oc Register,
22 Aug. 2025
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Dusted with crushed coral and powdered shells, the beaches of Los Roques—scattered like pearls across Venezuela’s Caribbean coast—offer sheets of talcum-white sand that dissolve into aquamarine shallows.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shoals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoals. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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