shoal

n.

1. A shallow place in a body of water.
2. A sandy elevation of the bottom of a body of water, constituting a hazard to navigation; a sandbank or sandbar.

v., shoaled, shoal·ing, shoals.

v.intr.
To become shallow: The river shoals suddenly here from eight to two fathoms.

v.tr.

1. To make shallow: The approach to the harbor was shoaled in the storm.
2. To come or sail into a shallower part of.

adj.
Having little depth; shallow.

[Middle English shold, shallow, shallows, from Old English sceald, shallow.]

shoal² (shōl)
n.

1. A large group; a crowd.
2. A large school of fish or other marine animals.

intr.v., shoaled, shoal·ing, shoals.
To come together in large numbers; throng.

[Probably Middle Low German or Middle Dutch schōle.]

(shol, rhymes with hole)

noun
1. A shallow area in a body of water.
2. A sandbank or sandbar in the bed of a body of water, constituting a navigation hazard.

Etymology
From Middle English shold, from Old English sceald (shallow). The homonym shoal, referring to a school of fish or a crowd, has a different origin, probably from Dutch schole (band or troop)

A shoal in the Yasawa Islands, Fiji:



(Image source: Wikipedia)

Usage
"[Thomas] Jefferson says, 'I've found the art of living is avoiding the shoals and the rocks. But the truth of the matter is none of us can avoid the shoals and the rocks.'" — Joe Kovac Jr.; This I Know: Max Cleland; Macon Telegraph (Georgia); Sep 14, 2008.

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noun

A shallow part of a body of water: shallow (often used in plural). See surface/depth.

adjective

Measuring little from bottom to top or surface: shallow. See surface/depth.

n. 1. an area of shallow water, especially as a navigational hazard.

2. a submerged sandbank visible at low water.

v.

(of water) become shallower.

adj. (of water) shallow.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

(DOD) A sandbank or bar that makes water shoal; i.e., a sand-bank that is not rocky and on which there is a water depth of 6 fathoms or less.

IN BRIEF: A shallow spot in a river, lake or ocean.

An unexpected shoal forced the kayakers to carry their vessel.

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - stime
v. intr. - stime, flokkes, svømme i stime

2.
n. - lavvandet sted, grund
v. intr. - grunde, blive grundet, komme på grundt vand
adj. - lavvandet, lav

Nederlands (Dutch)
school, zandbank, plaat

Français (French)
1.
n. - banc (de poissons), (fig) foule, quantité
v. intr. - se réunir en bancs, voyager par bancs

2.
n. - bas-fond, (Géog) banc de sable
v. intr. - devenir peu profond
adj. - peu profond

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Schwarm
v. - in Schwärmen schwimmen

2.
n. - Untiefe, Sandbank
v. - sich scharen
adj. - flach, untief

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ανάβαθα, ρηχά, σύρτις, κοπάδι, λεφούσι
v. - ρηχαίνω, (για πλοίο) πλέω προς τα ρηχά, (για ψάρια) σχηματίζω αγέλη

Italiano (Italian)
banco, secca

Português (Portuguese)
n. - cardume (m), quantidade (f)
v. - nadar, reagrupar-se em bancos, tornar-se menos profundo

Русский (Russian)
косяк (рыбы), большое количество (чего-л.), мелководье, отмель, собираться в косяк, мелеть, мелкий

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - banco, cardumen
v. intr. - formar cardumen, reunirse en gran número

2.
n. - bajío, banco de arena
v. intr. - disminuir gradualmente en profundidad, hacer menos profundo
adj. - poco profundo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - grund, rev, fallgrop, stim, massa, mängd
v. - grunda upp, samlas i stim, stimma

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 一片浅水, 浅滩, 浅水处, 沙洲, 变浅, 水浅的

2. 鱼群, 大量, 大群, 鱼成群而游, 变浅

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 一片淺水, 淺灘, 淺水處, 沙洲
v. intr. - 變淺
adj. - 水淺的

2.
n. - 魚群, 大量, 大群
v. intr. - 魚成群而遊, 變淺

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - (물고기 따위의) 떼, 다량, 다수
v. intr. - (물고기가) 떼를 짓다, 떼지어 유영하다

2.
n. - 얕은 곳, 여울목, 사주
v. intr. - 얕아지다, 여울이 되다
adj. - 얕은 , (배가) 비교적 얕은 수심에서 뜨는, (배의) 홀수가 낮은

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 浅瀬, 隠れた危険, 群れ, 多数, 砂州
v. - 浅くなる, 浅瀬に突っ込む, 群れをなす, 浅くする, 浅いところに入る
adj. - 浅い

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مياه ضحله, فوج, قطيع (فعل) يجعله ضحلا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮להקת-דגים, המון, מספר רב‬
v. intr. - ‮התקהלו, יצרו להקה‬
n. - ‮מי-אפסיים, שרטון, מקום רדוד, ברבים: סכנות או קשיים סמויים‬
v. intr. - ‮נעשה רדוד‬
adj. - ‮רדוד (מיושן)‬

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