Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A sandbar that connects an island to the mainland or to another island.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A sand-reef by which an island is connected with the mainland. See the extract.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A spit of sand linking an island to the mainland (or to another island), formed by longshore drift.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Italian, from Latin tumulus, mound; see tumulus.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Italian tombolo ("pillow"), from Latin tumulus ("mound"), from tumeō ("I swell").

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Examples

  • To clinch the victory, Valencic won a best-of-five final round, which included a question asking for the Italian name for sediment deposits that connect a shoreline with an offshore island: tombolo.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • “The Word of the Day,” he said, and his voice filled all the rooms of the school, “is tombolo.

    High School Confidential Jeremy Iversen 2006

Comments

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  • A sand or gravel bar joining an island to the mainland or another island.

    December 21, 2007