mole
1
7.7
- noun
- /moʊl/
- UK
:
molo
- As the boat approached the mole, sailors could see fishermen unloading their catches on the dock.
- harbor mole
- coastal mole
- build a mole
Examples
-
The construction of the new mole will help protect the harbor from stronger waves during storms.
-
If anything else sinks here, the mole's blocked and we're stuffed.
-
Moles and jetties were scoured from the rims of harbors.
Fiction book (1998) -
She swam between the island and the mainland until she found a submerged mole or breakwater a few yards below the surface, constructed of parallel stone walls filled with rubble.
Fiction book (2000) -
Tourists often walk along the mole to enjoy the sunset while watching boats come and go.
Synonyms
14
3.9
A strong wall built along the shore to protect land from the sea
11
8.6
A strong wall built to protect a place like a city or ship
10
5.1
A long wall that goes from the shore into the sea to protect the coast from waves
5
6.4
A wall built out into the sea to protect a coast or harbor from waves
1
9.1
A wall built from the shore into the sea to stop sand washing away
1
9.9
A low stone or concrete wall that sticks out from a beach to stop the sea from washing away sand
Compounds
1
9.9
A small mole from eastern North America with soft fur that lives mostly underground
- South African
1
9.9
A small burrowing mammal from western Africa that lives in underground colonies
1
7.3
A small almost hairless African animal that lives underground in large groups like ants
- Specialized
A small mole with a long pointed snout that lives underground and eats insects
A small burrowing animal from eastern Asia that looks like a shrew and a mole
- Australian
A small Australian animal that lives underground and carries its babies in a pouch
A small brownish-black animal like a frog that lives underground and comes out to lay eggs
A large insect with strong front legs that digs tunnels in soft soil and eats plant roots
- South African
A small animal from southern Africa that lives underground and has shiny fur
- Specialized
A small animal that lives underground with a short furry tail found in eastern North America
- Specialized
A pregnancy condition where tissue grows into many fluid-filled sacs instead of a baby
- Specialized
A rare growth in the womb during early pregnancy that forms fluid-filled cysts and often causes loss of the baby
- Specialized
A larger female in a colony of naked mole rats who is the only one to have babies
- Australian
A small Australian burrowing animal with a pouch for its young that looks like a mole
A small mole found in eastern North America that lives in water and has many pink tentacles on its nose
A small North American mole that lives in wet ground with a pink nose of many tentacles to find food
Surface Forms
Etymology
Mole (harbour structure) comes from the Latin word moles, meaning 'mass' or 'large pile'. That's why a harbour mole is a big mass of stone built into the water to stop waves and protect the shore.