Littoral
adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A shore.
"[…] these Chams belonged to the Malay-Polynesian group and their distribution along the littoral suggests that they were invaders from the sea […]"
- 2 the region of the shore of a lake or sea or ocean wordnet
- 3 The zone of a coast between high tide and low tide levels.
"The night was considerably clearer than anybody on board her desired when the schooner Ventura headed for the land. It rose in places, black and sharp against the velvety indigo, over her dipping bow, though most of the low littoral was wrapped in obscurity."
- 1 Of or relating to the shore, especially the seashore. not-comparable
"The deep-sea fauna has probably been formed almost entirely from the littoral, not in the remotest antiquity, but only after food derived from the débris of the littoral and terrestrial faunas and floras became abundant."
- 1 of or relating to a coastal or shore region wordnet
Example
More examples"Currents, waves, and wind normally transport sediment throughout the littoral system. Armoring of the coast can interfere with littoral transport, which in a natural state may reach a dynamic equilibrium."
Etymology
From Late Latin littoralis, from litoris (genitive of litus). The doubled 't' is a late medieval addition, and the more classical litoral is also sometimes found. Cognate to French littoral, Spanish litoral, Portuguese litoral, and more distantly to English lido (“outdoor pool”), via Italian lido (“beach, shore”).
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.