sand bar
- noun
- /sænd bɑr/
:
banco de arena
- I think our fishing's screwed over there 'cause of the sand bar counter tide.
Examples
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In 1992, seals were hauled out on the Kuskokwim shoals, on Neragon Island (Scammon Bay), and on sand bars in Kasegaluk Lagoon.
Academic text (1997) -
By the sand bar.
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Various schools of fish are out close to the sand bar, the smaller fish are closer to shore, crabs are all over the water, and the baby crabs are about the size of a nickel, running around on the shore.
Blog text (14) -
Occasionally, spotted seals will use grass-covered sand bars (Naito, 1973).
Academic text (1997) -
The boat ran aground on a sand bar just off the coast.
-
We set up our picnic on the sand bar that appeared during low tide.
-
Many birds nest on the exposed sand bars along the river's edge.
Synonyms
82
7.0
A raised area of sand under water near the shore that can block boats
11
2.8
A long narrow area of sand in a river or sea near the shore
1
3.2
A raised area of sand in a river or by the sea that appears at low tide
A strip of sand or mud along a riverbank that appears when the water is low
A narrow strip of sand that reaches into the water from the shore
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a long, narrow deposit of sand...' is directly and transparently derived from 'sand' (granular material) + 'bar' (a ridge or bank). This straightforward noun–noun composition simply denotes a ridge made of sand, a common and cross-linguistically familiar concept, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand it.
Etymology
Sand bar comes from the simple image of a long 'bar' of sand pushed by moving water into a line or ridge in a river or sea. That's why it means 'a long, narrow bank of sand in the water' that often shows at low tide or can block boats.