Rip current
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A strong flow of surface water, away from the shore, that returns water from incoming waves.
"It takes on complicated forms, including longshore currents, which set parallel to the beach, and rip currents, in which water carried shoreward by breaking waves finds its way back to deep water in fast, narrow jets. Longshore and rip current velocities may be as great as 3 knots."
- 2 a strong surface current flowing outwards from a shore wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"It takes on complicated forms, including longshore currents, which set parallel to the beach, and rip currents, in which water carried shoreward by breaking waves finds its way back to deep water in fast, narrow jets. Longshore and rip current velocities may be as great as 3 knots."
Etymology
Coined as a more accurate replacement for the earlier term "riptide", as the phenomenon is not related to the tides.