Meanings
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1
noun
A coastal water body where ocean tides and river water merge, resulting in a brackish water zone.
The railway then follows the widening estuary of the river, which at high tide has the appearance of a lake, but at low water presents a rather cheerless expanse of dark mud.
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2
noun
the wide part of a river where it nears the sea
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3
noun
An ocean inlet also fed by fresh river water.
Thesaurus
Word family
Derived forms
estuarialestuarianestuariedpalaeoestuarysubestuary
Related forms
aestuousecotoneestuateestuationexestuateexestuation
Etymology
From Latin aestuarium (“creek”, “estuary of a river”).