reef
Other forms: reefs; reefed; reefing
A reef is a raised area on the ocean floor that's made of rock, coral, or sand. If you are a scuba diver, head to a coral reef to check out the diverse marine life.
A barrier reef is one that surrounds an island and creates a lagoon between the reef and the beach. When this type of reef attracts diverse ocean life, it can be popular with snorkelers and scuba divers. When you're sailing, a reef is a section of the sail that you can roll up when necessary — and to reef is to roll up a reef. Both meanings share an Old Norse root, rif, "ridge under the water."
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a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the watertypes:coral reefa reef consisting of coral consolidated into limestoneatollan island consisting of a circular coral reef surrounding a lagoonbarrier reefa long coral reef near and parallel to the shoretype of:ridgea long narrow natural elevation or striation
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one of several strips across a sail that can be taken in or rolled up to lessen the area of the sail that is exposed to the wind
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roll up (a portion of a sail) in order to reduce its area
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reduce (a sail) by taking in a reef
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lower and bring partially inboard
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Vocabulary lists containing reef
Physical geography will be a breeze once you master this list of terms related to Earth's physical features. You'll review climate and weather, landforms and bodies of water, biomes and ecosystems, and the geological structure of the Earth — and that's just the tip of the iceberg!
Physical geography will be a breeze once you master this list of terms related to Earth's physical features. You'll review climate and weather, landforms and bodies of water, biomes and ecosystems, and the geological structure of the Earth — and that's just the tip of the iceberg!
Physical geography will be a breeze once you master this list of terms related to Earth's physical features. You'll review climate and weather, landforms and bodies of water, biomes and ecosystems, and the geological structure of the Earth — and that's just the tip of the iceberg!