Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Shoal for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Shoal" — noun, pronounced /ʃəʊl/, with the stress on "shoal".
Narrator: A shoal is a large number of fish swimming together.
Narrator: In plain English, it is a crowd of fish.
Narrator: It comes from Old English scolu, a troop.
Narrator: A common collocation is "a shoal of herring", which describes a big group of fish.
Narrator: It differs from "school", because a school swims in tight coordination, while a shoal is a looser group.
Narrator: In a second sense, a shoal is a shallow area or sandbank dangerous to boats.
Narrator: Marine biology, fishing, sailing and nature writing all rely on the word.
Narrator: So remember: a shoal is fish together, or shallow water.
Speaker A: What's that silver flash in the water?
Speaker B: A SHOAL of mackerel! From Old English scolu.
Speaker A: Hundreds?
Speaker B: Thousands, all turning together.
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "A shoal of sardines", nature. "The boat ran aground on a shoal", sailing. "Shoals of tourists on the pier", humour.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Spell it "shoal", not "shole".
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: School is its cousin, swarm its twin, and sandbank an alternative — yet shoal keeps its shimmering charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "shoal" in AI prompts — useful for simulations and sailing safety.
Speaker A: How for simulations?
Speaker B: Animate fish.
Prompt: Write a boids-style simulation of a fish shoal on an HTML canvas.
Speaker A: And sailing?
Speaker B: Hazards.
Prompt: Mark shoals on this route and warn sailors at low tide.
Speaker A: Could it help ecology?
Speaker B: Yes, for education.
Prompt: Explain why fish swim in shoals for eight-year-olds.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: Vocabulary.
Prompt: Explain the difference between a shoal and a school of fish.
Shoal — meaning in Arabic & definition More S courses GL Dictionary