tombolo

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/tɒmˈbəʊləʊ/

noun

A spit of sand linking an island to the mainland (or to another island), formed by longshore drift.

OriginItalian tombolo ← Latin tumulus →
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nountombolo (plural tombolos)

plural tombolos

  1. geographyA spit of sand linking an island to the mainland (or to another island), formed by longshore drift.

Origin

  1. Latintumulus“mound”
  2. Italiantombolo“pillow”
  3. Englishtombolo

From Italian tombolo (“pillow”), from Latin tumulus (“mound”), from tumeō (“to swell”). Doublet of tumulus.

More words from Italian, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Russian пере́йма
  • пере́йма (peréjma)spit of sand
Swedish tombolo
  • tombolospit of sand
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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