In maritime law. Such little inlets of the sea, whether within the precinct or extent of a port or without, as are narrow passages, and have shore on either side of them. Call. Sew. 50. A small stream less than a river. Baker v. City, of Boston, 12 Pick. 184, 22 Am. Dec. 421. The term imports a recess, cove, bay, or inlet in the shore of a river, and not a separate or independent stream; though it is sometimes used in the latter meaning. Schermerhorn v. Railroad Co., 38 N. Y. 103.