Estuary Meaning
/ˈɛstjʊəɹi/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA coastal water body where ocean tides and river water merge, resulting in a brackish water zone.
nounAn ocean inlet also fed by fresh river water.
Sentence Examples
The conservationist is against the building of a tidal barrage across the Severn estuary.
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The boat sailed into the wide ____ where the river meets the sea.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The fresh river water mixed with the salty tide in the wide, shallow ____.
Word Origin & History
From Latin aestuarium (“creek”, “estuary of a river”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The railway then follows the widening estuary of the river, which at high tide has the appearance of a lake, but at low water presents a rather cheerless expanse of dark mud."
— 1953 February, H. A. Vallance, “To Brighton through the Shoreham Gap”, in Railway Magazine, page 82:
"There's something special about tidal estuaries, due to the abundance of wildlife and the ever-changing scenes as the water ebbs or rises. Throw in some moody skies and filtered sunlight, and the views can resemble a painting by Turner - only you don't have to go to the National Gallery to see this, it's brought to your seat on a train."
— 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 65:
"Many of them would move to the new private housing estates springing up further east along the Thames Corridor, where they would learn to 'speak Estuary'."
— 2015, Jonathan Schneer, The Thames: England's River:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The boat sailed into the wide ____ where the river meets the sea.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The fresh river water mixed with the salty tide in the wide, shallow ____.