A shore is the land along the edge of an ocean, sea, or large lake where the water meets the ground. When you walk on a beach, build sandcastles, or hunt for seashells, you're on the shore. The shore can be sandy, rocky, or covered with pebbles and broken shells, depending on where you are.

The word describes both the specific strip of land that the waves touch and the general coastal area nearby. When sailors say they're going ashore, they mean they're leaving their ship to walk on land. When a family drives to the Jersey Shore or the North Shore of Lake Superior, they're heading to the land along the water's edge.

As a verb, shore can also mean to support or prop something up, like when construction workers shore up a wall with wooden beams to keep it from falling.

The shore is where two worlds meet: the vast water and the solid land. It's where boats are launched, where storms hit hardest, and where countless beach adventures begin.