Word.ws English Dictionary

esker

/ˈɛskə/US/ˈɛskɚ/

esker noun: a long, narrow, sinuous ridge created by deposits from a stream running beneath a glacier.

esker: a long, narrow, sinuous ridge created by deposits from a stream running beneath a glacier
Image: Williamborg, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

esker (plural eskers)

  1. A long, narrow, sinuous ridge created by deposits from a stream running beneath a glacier.
    • Another unusual ice-contact feature is an esker, a long, narrow, steep-sided ridge of glaciofluvial sand and gravel inhabiting a glaciated area. Eskers tend to follow valleys and lowlands, carefully picking a course between obstacles.1988, Robert Phillip Sharp, Living Ice: Understanding Glaciers and Glaciation, page 149
    • Another objection to the tunnel-valley interpretation comes from a comparison with eskers.[…]The esker rivers and the tunnel-channel rivers of Wisconsin therefore seem to have been the result of significantly different meltwater regimes.1999, L. Clayton, J. W. Attig, D. M. Mickelson, “Tunnel channels formed in Wisconsin during the last glaciation”, in David M. Mickelson, John W. Attig, editors, Glacial Processes, Past and Present...
    Synonyms:
    osar, asar, os, ose

Proper noun capitalized: Esker

Esker (plural Eskers)

  1. A surname from German.

Synonyms of esker

Forms of esker

Noun
pluraleskers
alternative formeskar
Proper noun
pluralEskers

Origin of esker

From Irish eiscir (“esker, glacial ridge”).

Borrowed from German Esker.

Questions about esker

What does esker mean?
Esker means a long, narrow, sinuous ridge created by deposits from a stream running beneath a glacier.
What part of speech is esker?
Esker can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce esker?
Esker is pronounced /ˈɛskɚ/ (US).
What is the plural of esker?
The plural of esker is eskers.

Words near esker in the dictionary

  1. Eskdale
  2. Eskdale Green
  3. Eskdaleside
  4. Eskdaleside cum Ugglebarnby
  5. eskebornite
  6. esker
  7. eskers
  8. Eskesen
  9. esketamine
  10. Eskew
  11. Eskibeat

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: esker (page history and authors); Esker (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-esker.wav.

Cite this entry: “esker.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/esker. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.