How to pronounce shoal
Say it like SHOHL. Shoal is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce shoal. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SHOHL
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Shoal pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SHOHLSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "o" in go.
American vs British pronunciation of shoal
- The long o starts further forward in British English, closer to "uh-oo" than the American "oh".
British respelling: SHOHL.
What does shoal mean?
- A sandbank or sandbar creating a shallow.
- A shallow in a body of water.
- To arrive at a shallow (or less deep) area.
- To cause a shallowing; to come to a more shallow part of.
- To become shallow.“The color of the water shows where it shoals.”
- Any large number of persons or things.“Shoals of tourists”
- A large number of fish (or other sea creatures) of the same species swimming together.
Where does shoal come from?
From Middle English schold, scholde, from Old English sċeald (“shallow”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *skalidaz, past participle of *skaljaną (“to go dry, dry up, become shallow”), from *skalaz (“parched, shallow”), from Proto-Indo-European
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with shoal
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of shoal.
Questions about saying shoal
How do you pronounce shoal?
Say SHOHL. The American pronunciation is /ʃoʊl/. In British English it is /ʃəʊl/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in shoal?
Shoal is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: SHOHL.
Is shoal pronounced differently in British English?
Yes. The long o starts further forward in British English, closer to "uh-oo" than the American "oh". The British form is /ʃəʊl/ (SHOHL).