A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading, on horseback, or inside a vehicle getting its wheels wet.

At places where the water is shallow enough, but the material on the riverbed will not support heavy vehicles, fords are sometimes improved by building a submerged concrete floor.

In such cases, a curb (kerb) is often placed on the downstream side to prevent vehicles from slipping off, as the growth of algae will often make the slab very slippery.

Some enthusiasts seek out and drive through these water features, recording details (such as wave created, position, and access) on dedicated websites.

In Israel and part of the British areas under the mandate a low water crossing or watersplash had been known as the "Irish bridge"[7] in reference to the Anglo–Irish war.

Thus the name Utrecht, originally the Roman fort of Traiectum, is derived from "Uut Trecht", meaning "downstream crossing".

Similarly, in Slavic languages, the word brod comes from the linguistic root that means "river-crossing" or "place where a river can be crossed".

In historic times, positioning an army in large units close to a river was thought best for direct defense as well as to attack the enemy at any crossing point.