groyne

Everyday

A low wall or fence of wood, stone or concrete built out from a beach into the sea to stop the sand and pebbles being washed away. tree →

In the lessons

In geography lessons on coasts (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand), groynes are a kind of «hard engineering» that stops longshore drift, the way waves move sand along the coast. Beaches with groynes have more sand on one side. Phrases: wooden groynes, coastal defences, longshore drift.

Examples

• Wooden groynes stretch down the beach at Brighton. tree →
• Groynes trap sand carried by longshore drift. tree →
• We sat on a groyne and ate our picnic. tree →
• Sand piles up on one side of each groyne. tree →
• The council built new groynes to protect the coast. tree →
• In our geography test we had to label the groynes on a diagram. tree →

Note

British spelling: groyne. American spelling: groin, which is also the word for the top of the inside leg, so the British spelling avoids a mix-up. Rhymes with «coin». Safety: do not climb on slippery groynes when the tide is coming in.