shoal
noun/ʃəʊl/
/ʃəʊl/
- a large number of fish swimming together as a group
- shoals of herring
- Squid travel in shoals.
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- a small hill of sand just below the surface of the sea
- The boat ran aground on a shoal.
Word Originsense 1 late 16th cent.: probably from Middle Dutch schōle ‘troop’. Compare with school sense 9.sense 2 Old English sceald (adjective), of Germanic origin; related to shallow.
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