Everyday · Nature & weather · Travel & places
Estuary: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Estuary noun. The wide mouth of a river, where its fresh water meets the tide.
How to say it
ES-choo-uh-ree/ˈɛstʃʊ(ə)ri/ · American /ˈɛstʃuˌɛri/
4 syllables, stressed on the first (ES).
Estuary in a sentence
Thousands of wading birds feed on the mudflats of the estuary at low tide.
We followed the river path all the way to the estuary, where it opened out into the sea.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- firth
- inlet
- river mouth
Opposite:
- source
Where estuary comes from
From Latin aestuarium, a tidal place, from aestus, tide.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
We followed the river path all the way to the _____, where it opened out into the sea.
- deluge
- estuary
- senescence
Show the answer
estuary: We followed the river path all the way to the estuary, where it opened out into the sea.