shoreline

S1H4O1R1E1L1I1N1E1

noun

The divide between land and a body of water.

Less commonScrabble 12
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Meanings

nounshoreline (plural shorelines)

plural shorelines

  1. The divide between land and a body of water.

    Owners of homes on eroding beaches are encouraged to move back from the shoreline.

    1987 October, Charles E. Cobb, Jr., “North Carolina's Outer Banks”, in National Geographic, volume 172, number 4, page 512
    1 more example

    An algae bloom has killed thousands of fish in the San Francisco Bay Area in recent weeks, officials say, forcing shoreline cleanups, spreading unpleasant odor and spurring scientists to further investigate the extent of the ecological damage.

    2022 September 3, Taylor Romine and Jason Hanna, “An algae bloom has killed thousands of fish in the San Francisco Bay Area”, in CNN
  2. The line on a map that illustrates this.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
coastlinestrandline

Origin

From shore + line.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian брегова ивица
  • брегова ивица (bregova ivica)the divide between land and water
Chinese Cantonese 海岸線 /海岸线, 海岸線 /海岸线
  • 海岸線 /海岸线 (hoi² ngon⁶ sin³)the divide between land and water
  • 海岸線 /海岸线 (hoi² ngon⁶ sin³)line on a map
Chinese Mandarin 海岸線 /海岸线, 岸線 /岸线
  • 海岸線 /海岸线 (hǎi'ànxiàn)the divide between land and water
  • 岸線 /岸线 (ànxiàn)the divide between land and water
  • 海岸線 /海岸线 (hǎi'ànxiàn)line on a map
  • 岸線 /岸线 (ànxiàn)line on a map
Finnish rantaviiva, rantaviiva
  • rantaviivathe divide between land and water
  • rantaviivaline on a map
French rivage
  • rivagethe divide between land and water
Greek ακτή
  • ακτή (aktí)the divide between land and water
Italian battima
  • battimathe divide between land and water
Japanese 海岸線, 汀線
  • 海岸線 (kaigansen)the divide between land and water
  • 汀線 (teisen)the divide between land and water
Māori tahatika
  • tahatikathe divide between land and water
Norwegian Bokmål strandlinje
  • strandlinjethe divide between land and water
Portuguese faixa costeira, litoral
  • faixa costeirathe divide between land and water
  • litoralthe divide between land and water
  • cordão litoralthe divide between land and water
  • linha de costaline on a map
  • linha de margemline on a map
Spanish orilla
  • orillathe divide between land and water
Turkish kıyı şeridi
  • kıyı şeridithe divide between land and water
Welsh ymyl traeth
  • ymyl traeththe divide between land and water
Cite this entry
APA

shoreline. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoreline

MLA

“shoreline.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoreline. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shoreline,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoreline.

Source: shoreline on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.