rip current
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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.
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Noun | 1. | rip current - a strong surface current flowing outwards from a shore tide - the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon |
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