Meaning & use
tidal bore
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountabletechnical
A wave or wall of water that pushes upstream against a river's flow when a strong incoming tide enters a narrow, shallowing estuary.
Grammar: Usually a, the or the name of a river: the tidal bore on the Severn.
Patterns
- a tidal bore on something
- a tidal bore moves up something
Surfers wait at the riverbank for the tidal bore, which can carry them several miles upstream.
A tidal bore roared up the estuary and forced the river to flow backward for a few minutes.
Tourists gather each spring to watch the tidal bore rush under the old bridge.
Word forms
| plural | tidal bores |
|---|
Common combinations
- watch the tidal bore
- Hundreds of people lined the banks to watch the tidal bore arrive.
- surf a tidal bore
- He travelled across the country to surf a tidal bore for the first time.
- a tidal bore surges upstream
- As a tidal bore surges upstream, the water level can rise a meter in minutes.
- the arrival of a tidal bore
- The arrival of a tidal bore is announced by a distant rumbling.
- a famous tidal bore
- The Qiantang River has a famous tidal bore that draws huge crowds.
Synonyms and how they differ
- eagre
- Eagre is an old British word for the same wave on certain English rivers; it is far rarer than tidal bore and mostly found in local or historical writing.
- bore
- Bore on its own is the shorter technical term, but tidal bore is clearer for general readers because bore has many other meanings.
- tidal wave
- Tidal wave is a loose, older name for a tsunami or any huge wave, but a tidal bore is a specific, moving step of water in a river that is caused by the tide.
Word family
Commonly confused: tidal bore or tsunami?
tidal bore vs tsunami
A tsunami is a series of huge waves caused by an earthquake or landslide, while a tidal bore is caused by the tide and travels up a river.
Practice
Which event is a tidal bore?
Choose one answer.
A tidal bore is created by the incoming tide funnelling into a narrow river mouth. The first option describes a tsunami, the third a storm surge, and the fourth a whirlpool.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tidal bore”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.