rip current

rip current

A rip current is formed when water coming ashore is channeled back to sea through a narrow passage, such as a break in a sandbar, causing an increase in the strength of the current.

rip current

n.

A strong, narrow surface current that flows rapidly away from the shore, returning the water carried landward by waves. Also called rip tide, tiderip.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

rip current

(rĭp)

A strong, narrow surface current that flows rapidly away from the shore. Rip currents form when water that has piled up along a shore due to wind and waves suddenly returns to deeper waters. Also called rip tide.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

rip current - a strong surface current flowing outwards from a shore riptide tide - the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon current, stream - a steady flow of a fluid (usually from natural causes); "the raft floated downstream on the current"; "he felt a stream of air"; "the hose ejected a stream of water"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.