Meaning of shoal in English

shoal
noun
uk
/ʃəʊl/ us
/ʃoʊl/

shoal noun (FISH)

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[ C, + sing/pl verb ]
a large number of fish swimming as a group:
We could see shoals of tiny fish darting around.
Piranhas often feed in shoals.
  picture of shoal
ChoppyRocks Photography by PC Davy/ Moment/GettyImages
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Animal groupings
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shoal noun (PEOPLE/THINGS)

[ C usually plural ] informal
a large number of things or people:
In the summer, tourists visit the city in shoals.
Groups and collections of things
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

shoal noun (RAISED AREA)

[ C ]   geology   specialized
a raised area of sand or rocks under the surface of the water
Geography: banks & embankments
(Definition of shoal from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

shoal | American Dictionary

shoal
noun [ C ]
us
/ʃoʊl/

shoal noun [C] (LAND)

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a raised bank of sand or rocks under the surface of the water

shoal noun [C] (FISH)

a large group of fish swimming together:
shoals of mackerel
(Definition of shoal from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of shoal

shoal
The high frequency of infected males in shoals suggests that most infected males remained in shoals during the breeding season.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
As the stock declines, it typically forms fewer shoals, albeit comparable in size to those which obtained previously, but distributed over a reduced area.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Rather, their enterprise, like that of the other sciences, runs aground on the shoals of epistemology.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
514 formed in open-marine, wave-swept environments, often associated with grainstone shoals, and occur mainly in bioherms set within a stratigraphic position consistent with accommodation increase and sea-level rise.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
However, in the present study we focused on individual responses and interactions associated with avoidance behaviour, and studies on shoaling behaviour and parasites in fish require future work.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Furthermore, anchovy, like other small pelagic fish, form tight shoals in defence against predation.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
There is no evidence that dolphins have any serious effect on fish shoals or on fishing gear.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
A short time later he appeared on television applauding the fact that he had received shoals of supporting letters from all over the country.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Applications for the imposition of this limit used to arrive in shoals.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
The agricultural labourer has flocked to the standard in shoals.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Fishing limits do not follow shoals of fish.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Therefore, use should be made by fishing craft, particularly the larger ones, of echo sounding for the purpose of finding fishing shoals.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
There are dense shoals of them in the waters round our shores.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
When they strike great shoals of fish, there is a glut and prices begin to fall.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Markets and the incidence of shoals break up the continuity of the year's work.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
See all examples of shoal
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
What is the pronunciation of shoal?
 

Translations of shoal

in Chinese (Traditional)
魚, 魚群, 大批，大群（東西或人）…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
鱼, 鱼群, 大批，大群（东西或人）…
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in Spanish
cardumen, banco, montón…
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in Portuguese
cardume, bando, baixio…
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in Turkish
in French
in Dutch
in Czech
in Danish
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Ukrainian
balık sürüsü/akını, sürü, sığlık yer…
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banc (de poissons), haut-fond, banc de sable…
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school, ondiepte…
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hejno, mělčina, písčina…
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stime, banke, -banke…
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kawanan ikan, beting…
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ฝูงปลา, หาดตื้น…
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đàn cá, chỗ nông, chỗ cạn…
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ławica, mielizna…
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stim, grund, [sand]rev…
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sekawan, beting…
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der Schwarm, die Untiefe…
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stim, sandbanke, grunne…
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табун, косяк, мілина…
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