Standard Lemma guide

sandbank

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈsændˌbæŋk/ without æ-raising
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /ˈseə̯ndˌbeɪ̯ŋk/ æ-raising

1

noun

Meaning 1

A ridge of sand along a shore that is partially or totally submerged and thus a hazard to shipping.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sandbar, sandridge

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: bar, shoal

2

noun

Meaning 2

a submerged bank of sand near a shore or in a river; can be exposed at low tide

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: bank

Narrower terms: shoal

History

Etymology

From sand + bank. Compare Dutch zandbank (“sandbank, shoal”), German Sandbank (“sandbank, sandbar, shoal”), Swedish sandbank (“sandbank, bar”).

Across languages

Translations

44 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: ranishtë — ridge of sand
  • Breton: traezhenn — ridge of sand
  • Bulgarian: пясъчна плитчина (pjasǎčna plitčina) — ridge of sand
  • Catalan: banc de sorra — ridge of sand
  • Chinese Mandarin: 沙洲 (shāzhōu) — ridge of sand
  • Czech: písčina — ridge of sand
  • Danish: sandbanke — ridge of sand
  • Dutch: zandbank — ridge of sand
  • French: banc de sable — ridge of sand
  • Galician: barra — ridge of sand
  • Galician: banco de area — ridge of sand
  • Galician: restinga — ridge of sand
  • Galician: taro — ridge of sand
  • German: Sandbank — ridge of sand
  • Ancient Greek: θίς (thís) — ridge of sand
  • Ido: sablostrato — ridge of sand
  • Igbo: ubòm — ridge of sand
  • Irish: oitir — ridge of sand
  • Japanese: 砂州 (sasu) — ridge of sand
  • Kimbundu: senga — ridge of sand
  • Korean: 사주 (saju) — ridge of sand
  • Latin: syrtis — ridge of sand
  • Māori: tāhuna — ridge of sand
  • Māori: ranga — ridge of sand
  • Māori: tāhuna onepū — ridge of sand
  • Norman: banc d'sablion — ridge of sand
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sandbanke — ridge of sand
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sandbanke — ridge of sand
  • Old English: sandhryċġ — ridge of sand
  • Polish: ławica piaskowa — ridge of sand
  • Polish: mielizna — ridge of sand
  • Portuguese: banco de areia — ridge of sand
  • Punjabi: ਬਰੇਤਾ (baretā) — ridge of sand
  • Russian: ба́нка (bánka) — ridge of sand
  • Russian: о́тмель (ótmelʹ) — ridge of sand
  • Scottish Gaelic: oitir — ridge of sand
  • Serbo-Croatian: prud — ridge of sand
  • Serbo-Croatian: prudište — ridge of sand
  • Spanish: banco de arena — ridge of sand
  • Spanish: banco arenoso / arenáceo / arenisco — ridge of sand
  • Swedish: sandbank — ridge of sand
  • Ottoman Turkish: قومسال (kumsal) — ridge of sand
  • Welsh: traethell — ridge of sand
  • Welsh: banc tywod — ridge of sand