I. shore 1 /ʃɔː $ ʃɔːr/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Middle Dutch ; Origin: Middle Low German schore ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] the land along the edge of a large area of water such as an ocean or lake:
We could see a boat about a mile from shore.
Only a few survivors reached the shore.
She began to swim to shore.
on the shores of something
a holiday resort on the shores of the Adriatic
on shore
We had a couple of hours on shore (=not on a ship) .
off shore
The island is about three miles off shore (=away from the coast) .
rocky/sandy shore
2 . these/British/our etc shores written a country that has a border on the sea:
Millions of immigrants flocked to these shores in the 19th century.
growing fears that English football players will be lured away to foreign shores
⇨ ↑ ashore , ↑ offshore , ↑ onshore
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THESAURUS
▪ shore the area of sand, mud, or low land along the edge of the sea, a lake etc:
I went down to the shore to meet him.
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The fish is commonly found off the shores of Australia.
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They had planned to take a picnic on the shores of Lake Havel.
▪ coast the land next to the sea:
He lives on the Sussex coast.
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one of the most luxurious hotels on the south coast
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the Draugen oil field, off the West coast of Norway
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the East Coast of the United States
▪ beach an area of sand or small stones at the edge of the sea:
Let's go to the beach.
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Brighton beach
▪ the seashore the land at the edge of the sea, consisting of sand or rocks:
He walked with her along the seashore.
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You can hear the waves breaking on the seashore.
▪ the seaside British English the areas or towns next to the sea where people go to enjoy themselves:
We went on day trips to the seaside.
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Oh I do love to be beside the seaside (=a line from a well-known song) .
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a seaside town
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a seaside resort
▪ bank the land along the side of a river:
a journey along the banks of the River Ganges
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He swam over to the other bank.
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The river burst its banks.
▪ the waterfront the part of a town or an area of land next to the sea, a river etc – used especially when talking about buildings near the water:
The restaurant is down on the waterfront.
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a waterfront bar in Montreal called The Neptune
▪ the waterside ( also the lakeside , the riverside ) the area at the edge of a lake, river etc:
The mountains almost come down to the waterside.
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a rented villa on the lakeside
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A number of barges were hidden in the trees along the riverside.
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beautiful riverside views
II. shore 2 BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: shore 'piece of wood used as a support' (15-20 centuries) , from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German schore 'prop' ]
shore something ↔ up phrasal verb
1 . to support a wall or roof with large pieces of wood, metal etc to stop it from falling down:
The roof had been shored up with old timbers.
2 . to help or support something that is likely to fail or is not working well SYN bolster :
attempts to shore up the struggling economy