marsh

marsh — noun

1. Soft, wet land that is found near lakes, rivers, or the sea, where the ground st

1.nounB1
Definition

Soft, wet land that is found near lakes, rivers, or the sea, where the ground stays damp because water cannot drain away easily and often lies on the surface.

Example

After three days of heavy rain, the field behind Emma's house turned into a marsh.

marsh as resulting condition after rain

Eitan pulled his boots out of the thick marsh mud with every step.

compound noun: marsh mud

Common collocations
  • marsh mud
  • marsh plants
  • marsh grass
  • marsh bird
  • tidal marsh
  • salt marsh
Synonyms
  • swamp

    a wetland with trees and woody plants, while a marsh has mainly grasses and reeds

  • bog

    a wetland that is acidic and has soil made of decaying plants (peat), whereas marsh soil is richer in nutrients

  • wetland

    a broader term that includes marshes, swamps, and bogs

Antonyms
  • desert

    dry land with very little water, opposite of wet marshland

Grammar Patterns

marsh as a type of terrain (uncountable)

a marsh meaning a specific area (countable)

Common Mistakes

The marsh is a type of swamp, but swamps have trees.
A marsh is a type of wetland that usually has grasses and reeds rather than trees.
Marshes and swamps are different kinds of wetlands; marshes are dominated by soft-stemmed plants, while swamps have trees and shrubs.

2. A very large area of soft, wet land that stays damp all year, usually covered wi

2.nounB1
Definition

A very large area of soft, wet land that stays damp all year, usually covered with grasses and reeds, where many wild animals and birds live.

Example

Large marshes stretch for miles along the coast, giving a home to thousands of birds.

plural: marshes referring to a region

Amira took a boat through the marsh to photograph the herons and ducks.

Common collocations
  • coastal marshes
  • salt marsh
  • marshland
  • drain the marsh
  • protect the marsh
  • marsh habitat
Synonyms
  • marshland

    identical in meaning; used to describe the landscape type rather than a specific area

  • wetland

    broader term covering marshes, swamps, fens, and bogs

  • fen

    a type of wetland fed by groundwater rather than surface water, usually less acidic than a marsh

Grammar Patterns

the marshes (plural referring to a region)

marshlands (synonymous)

Usage Note

This sense is often used in the plural form 'marshes' to describe a large wetland region. The singular 'marsh' can refer to one specific area or be used in compound names such as 'Salt Marsh' or 'Wicken Fen'.

Common Mistakes

There is a marsh in my backyard after rain.' (if referring to temporary wetness)
The field behind my house becomes waterlogged after rain, but it is not a true marsh.
A marsh is a permanent wetland ecosystem, not temporary puddling.
Idioms

Ngaio Marsh

idiom

Dame Ngaio Marsh (1899–1982), a New Zealand writer of crime novels.

In one of Ngaio Marsh's novels, the detective searches for clues in a dark marsh at midnight.

Fans of Ngaio Marsh's stories often praise how she describes the New Zealand marshes and their wildlife.

Word family

  • marshy
    adjectiveB2
  • marshland
    nounB2
  • marshiness
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Marsh, swamp, bog, and fen are all types of wetland, but they differ in vegetation, water source, and soil chemistry. A marsh is a wetland dominated by soft-stemmed plants like grasses and reeds, with water that is usually shallow and nutrient-rich. A swamp, by contrast, is a wetland with trees and woody shrubs, often with standing water for much of the year. A bog is an acidic wetland where dead plant material accumulates as peat, fed only by rainwater, and is poor in nutrients. A fen is similar to a bog in having peat, but it receives water from groundwater or surface runoff and is less acidic. For example: 'The marsh was full of tall reeds and cattails, while the nearby swamp was thick with cypress trees.'

marshswampbogfen

Common collocations

Nouns

  • marsh gas
  • marsh grass
  • marsh bird
  • marsh plant
  • marsh mud

Phrases

  • salt marsh
  • tidal marsh
  • coastal marsh
  • marshland ecosystem

Prepositions

  • in the marsh
  • through the marsh
  • across the marsh

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'marsh' comes from Old English 'merisc' meaning 'a watery place, a lake', connected to the Proto-Germanic root '*mari-' meaning 'sea'. It is related to the modern English words 'marine' and 'mermaid', both of which also trace back to this ancient word for sea or body of water. Over time, the meaning narrowed from a body of water to the wet land beside it.