as in dunes
a raised area of sand with a top that is near or just above the surface of the water in an ocean, lake, or river
We walked out onto the sandbar at low tide.
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Recent Examples of sandbars
Reading the water’s depth from its color, Parrish slow-gunned the outboard motor through the sandbars as turtles fled from our bow wave.
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Henry Wismayer, Travel + Leisure, 7 Jan. 2026
Guides such as Eggleston place observers on sandbars at least 150 feet from the charismatic carnivores.
—Susan Portnoy, AFAR Media, 3 Oct. 2025
One man aboard the boat knew how to navigate the mangroves and sandbars of the keys, and with the late summer sun beating down on the rafters, the boat pushed out feebly into the open ocean.
—Miriam Pensack, The Dial, 30 Sep. 2025
River shorelines and sandbars pose unseen dangers.
—Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Rip currents are more likely to develop when a coastline is more complex, in terms of either the visible shore—a feature such as a jetty or a rocky point can trigger rip currents—or the underwater topography of sandbars that raise the ocean floor.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 19 Aug. 2025
By afternoon, the tide reveals hidden sandbars perfect for wading toward the horizon—where sea and sky melt in endless sapphire.
—Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sandbars
Noun
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Many travelers opt to take a four-wheeler down the Sand Highway, a one-way trail into a canyon on the boundary of the dunes, and the South Boundary Trail, which winds along the eastern side of the main dune area.—
Noun
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The second day involved a long, scenic ramble along a winding path that climbed ridges, dipped through dells and crossed a log bridge over a stream.—
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Blue and white linear patterns visible on A23a are likely related to striations, which are ridges that were scoured hundreds of years ago when the iceberg was part of the Antarctic bedrock, NASA said.—
Noun
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Decades ago, farmers built simple earthen embankments to protect their fields and livestock from seasonal flooding.—
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In Prague, large concrete blocks have been placed along popular embankments and around key foot-traffic areas, while police have increased patrols to monitor potential targets.—
Noun
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The debris appears as a large cloud of dirty water seen beyond the shoals off Montego Bay.—
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The shoals attract diving gannets and orcas.—
Cite this Entry
“Sandbars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sandbars. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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