ˈes(h)chəˌwerē, -ri noun
( -es )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Latin aestuarium, from aestus heaving of the sea, tide, boiling, heat + -arium; akin to Latin aestas summer — more at aestival
1.
a. : a water passage (as the mouth of a river) where the tide meets the current of a stream : tidal river
b. : an arm of the sea at the lower end of a river
2. : a drowned river mouth caused by the sinking of the land near the coast