shoals

Noun (1)

shoal (plural shoals)

1. A sandbank or sandbar creating a shallow.
   • 'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   bank, bar, sandbar, sandbank

2. A shallow in a body of water.
   • The depth of your pond should be six feet; and on the sides some shoals for the fish to sun themselves in and to lay their spawn.1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC

Noun (2)

shoal (plural shoals)

1. Any large number of persons or things.
   • Shoals of tourists
2. (collective) A large number of fish (or other sea creatures) of the same species swimming together.
   • Beneath, a shoal of silver fishes glides.c. 1661, Edmund Waller, On St. James's Park

See all 9 meanings of shoal