sea S2 W1 /siː/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: sæ ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] especially British English the large area of salty water that covers much of the Earth’s surface SYN ocean :
Jay stripped his clothes off and ran into the sea.
Most exports went by sea.
a little cottage by the sea
He spent over 30 years at sea.
They stood side by side looking out to sea.
2 . [countable] a large area of salty water that is mostly enclosed by land:
the Mediterranean Sea
3 . sea of something a very large number of people or things that all look similar:
He looked out at the sea of faces.
4 . (all) at sea confused or not sure what to do:
Living in a foreign country can mean you’re always at sea about what’s going on.
5 . the seas literary the sea – used especially when you are not talking about a particular ocean
across the seas (=far away)
They came from lands across the seas.
6 . [countable] one of the broad areas that seem flat on the moon and Mars
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ blue
The sun shone brightly upon the clear blue sea.
▪ calm
The sea was perfectly calm.
▪ rough (=with big waves)
The sea was too rough to swim in.
▪ choppy (=with a lot of small waves)
The wind was starting to pick up and the sea was becoming choppy.
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The yachts bobbed around on the choppy sea.
▪ heavy seas (=a rough sea)
The tanker split apart and sank in heavy seas.
▪ a stormy sea
a picture of a battleship in a stormy sea
▪ the open sea (=the part of the sea that is far away from land)
Rescuers are trying to drive the stranded whales back out into the open sea.
▪ the deep sea (=the water deep under the surface of the sea)
The deep sea is the most unexplored area left on the planet.
■ verbs
▪ cross the sea
Our ancestors crossed the sea in small boats.
▪ go to sea (=go to work on a ship)
He went to sea when he was eighteen.
▪ put to sea (=sail a boat away from land)
The refugees put to sea in rickety rafts.
▪ be lost at sea formal (=be drowned in the sea)
His father had been lost at sea three months before.
▪ be swept out to sea (=be taken far away from land by the sea)
They had to rescue three young canoeists who were swept out to sea.
■ sea + NOUN
▪ sea water
Removing salt from sea water is an expensive process.
▪ a sea view
All the bedrooms have a sea view.
▪ sea level
Average sea levels are rising year on year.
▪ the sea air (=the air close to the sea)
He breathed in the fresh sea air.
▪ the sea bed ( also the sea floor ) (=the land at the bottom of the sea)
A lot of these small creatures feed on the sea bed.
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THESAURUS
▪ the sea especially British English the large area of salty water that covers much of the Earth’s surface:
She lives by the sea.
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The sea was very rough.
▪ the ocean especially American English the large area of salty water that covers much of the Earth’s surface:
a house by the ocean
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The restaurant had a sweeping view of the ocean.
▪ waters a large area of water – used about an area of water that belongs to a particular country, or when describing what the water is like:
boats fishing in Canadian waters
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British territorial waters
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the calm waters of the harbour
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dangerous waters
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choppy waters (=with a lot of waves)
▪ bay an area of sea that is partly enclosed by a curve in the land:
I swam across the bay.
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the Bay of Biscay
▪ gulf a very large area of sea partly enclosed by land:
the Gulf of Mexico
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oil from the Gulf (=the area of water near Iran, Saudi Arabia etc)
▪ tide the regular rising and falling of the level of the sea:
Is the tide going out or coming in ?
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High tide (=when the sea is at its highest level) is at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
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low tide (=when the sea is at its lowest level)
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The rocks are visible at low tide.
▪ wave a line of raised water that moves across the surface of the sea:
The waves were crashing against the rocks.