Fjord

//ˈfiːɔːd// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A long, narrow, deep inlet between cliffs.

    "About 20 English miles beyond this river, which is the largest in Norway, the road crosses the fjord which forms the boundary of the two kingdoms [Norway and Sweden]; and whose waters but too often in former days were dyed with the life-blood of many a bold mountaineer who crossed the "border stream" never to return."

  2. 2
    a long narrow inlet of the sea between steep cliffs; common in Norway wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
armarmletbaybayoubeltbight

Example

More examples

"During the summer, many boats sail through the fjord to test their possibilities."

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Norwegian fjord, from Old Norse fjǫrðr, from Proto-Germanic *ferþu, *ferþuz (“inlet, fjord”), from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”), from *per- (“to carry forth”) + *-tus (suffix forming action nouns from verb roots). Doublet of firth, ford, port, and fjard.

Related phrases

Kolding Fjordfjord horsefjord lakefjord-like

More for "fjord"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.