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Glite Dictionary
Strait of Dover

Strait of Dover

3.9
A narrow sea passage between southeast England and northern France that connects the English Channel with the North Sea
  • proper noun
translation icon : Estrecho de Dover
  • During the storm, ships struggled to navigate through the turbulent waters of the Strait of Dover.

Examples

  • The ferry crosses the Strait of Dover every hour, connecting England and France.

  • February 12, 1942: Three German cruisers made it through the Strait of Dover.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • We must be past the Strait of Dover.

    The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)

  • Many travelers admire the views as they approach the Strait of Dover from the coastline.

Synonyms

Strait of Calais
vsStrait of Dover
4.5

A narrow stretch of sea between England and France at their closest point

is the English geographical name for the same channel
Pas de Calais
vsStrait of Dover
6.2

A narrow sea passage between England and France

is the English term that refers to the same crossing between England and France

Surface Forms

Strait of Dover main

Morphology

strait + of + Dover

The phrase is fully compositional: 'strait' denotes a narrow sea channel and 'Dover' is a place name, so 'Strait of Dover' straightforwardly refers to the narrow channel by Dover. The prepositional naming pattern (X of PLACE) is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Strait of Dover simply names a narrow stretch of sea by the town of Dover. The word strait literally means 'narrow passage', so the name gives a clear picture of a tight sea route between England and France and explains why it refers to that narrow part of the Channel.