What does promontory mean?
Word: Promontory
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Promontory means a high piece of land that juts out into the sea.
How do you spell promontory?
Syllables: prom - on - to - ry
Tricky part: In speech the ending shrinks almost to tri, so the vowel before ry vanishes or turns into an a or an e. It is an o.
Watch out for: promontary, promontry, promontery
Memory tip: Stand on the tip and say O, what a view: that o belongs just before the final ry.
Promontory in a sentence
Example 1: We climbed the promontory for a clear view of the coast.
Example 2: Gulls nest on the cliffs of the promontory every spring.
Example 3: The town was built on a promontory with water on three sides.
Fun Fact
The Rock of Gibraltar, at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, is among the best-known promontories in the world. This block of limestone rises more than 400 metres above the water.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
pr_m_ntory
a) o, o
b) e, o
c) a, o
d) o, a
Show answer
a) o, o. The word opens with prom, and the weak vowel after it is the same letter again.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The old hotel stands at the tip of a rocky mnorooyptr above the Arabian Sea.
a) promontory
b) prominent
c) preparatory
d) territory
Show answer
a) promontory. Three o's and a t: no other option has that mix.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word promontory as used in the sentence:
From the promontory we could watch dolphins leaping in the bay.
a) valley
b) headland
c) lagoon
d) hollow
Show answer
b) headland. A headland is a narrow piece of high land sticking out into the sea.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. estuery 2. peninsula 3. archepelago 4. promonntory
a) a piece of land almost surrounded by water
b) a large group of islands
c) high land jutting from a coast
d) the wide mouth of a river where it meets the sea
Show answer
a) a piece of land almost surrounded by water. Peninsula is the correct one here; promontory has a single n in the middle, estuary ends in ary, and archipelago takes an i after the h.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why do sailors value a lighthouse on a promontory?
a) it keeps the fishing boats warm at night
b) it stops high tides from rising further
c) its beam can be seen from far out at sea
d) it supplies fresh water to passing ships
Show answer
c) its beam can be seen from far out at sea
2. Which feature on a map would you label a promontory?
a) a wide, flat plain between two rivers
b) a deep, narrow valley between two hills
c) a rocky finger of land pointing into the ocean
d) a small lake far away from any shore
Show answer
c) a rocky finger of land pointing into the ocean
