estuary
noun
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A partly enclosed coastal body of water in which river water is mixed with seawater is called an estuary. An estuary is thus defined by salinity rather than geography. Many coastal features designated by other names are in fact estuaries (for instance, Chesapeake Bay). Some of the oldest continuous civilizations have flourished in estuarine environments (for example, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Nile delta, and the Ganges delta). Cities such as London (Thames River), New York (Hudson River), and Montreal (St. Lawrence River) developed on estuaries and became important commercial centers.
Synonyms
Examples of estuary in a Sentence
Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2024
With the use of DNA testing, a body found in an Alameda/Oakland estuary on Sept. 30 has been identified as Que Tran, 74, the San Pablo Police Department said in an April 16 news release posted to Facebook.
—Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 17 Apr. 2024
In 2002, when the aquarium began its releases, there were only about 20 otters in the estuary.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
For months, jurisdiction question marks and eroding law enforcement staffing levels complicated the issue, but the Oakland and Alameda police departments worked together and teamed up with the Coast Guard, which has a base in the estuary.
—Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 2 Apr. 2024
On March 2, at around 1 a.m., a drone flew over the estuary, entered their neighborhood and crashed into their building, according to Lt. Col. Serhii Sudets, a member of the air defense units protecting Odesa.
—Constant Méheut Oksana Parafeniuk, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
Both state and federal water projects pull water out of the beleaguered estuary and ship it south, primarily to reservoirs for farms in the San Joaquin Valley.
—Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, 8 Apr. 2024
There is no debate that crime on the estuary has fallen since that acute period 8 months ago.
—Will McCarthy, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Tributaries and estuaries can create a bottleneck for the swimming juveniles, which provides those studying them an opportunity to catch, count, and release the eels to get an idea of population trends that can inform larger scientific studies.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 13 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'estuary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Estuary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/estuary. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.
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estuary
noun
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