sea

Definitions · Examples · Pronunciations · Etymologies · Related · Statistics · Comments (1) ·

“

I seem to recall the sea was an awful lot closer than it is today, that looking out from the school one could see the smooth surface of the water of the bay.

—Irish Blogs

View all »
Definitions (61)

American Heritage Dictionary (11)

noun The continuous body of salt water covering most of the earth's surface, especially this body regarded as a geophysical entity distinct from earth and sky.
noun A tract of water within an ocean.
noun A relatively large body of salt water completely or partially enclosed by land.

8 more from this dictionary »

Century Dictionary (46)

The salt waters that cover the greater part of the earth's surface; the ocean. [The word sea in compound words always has the meaning of ‘ocean.’ In this sense, with a hyphen, the word is the first element of numerous names, especially of animals and plants, the more noteworthy of which are entered in the following columns.] The thridde day thei rode forth to the Rochell, and ther entred the see. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 419. “Here is a royal belt,” she cried, “That I have found in the green sea.” Kemp Owyne (Child's Ballads, I. 144). The sun's a thief, and with his great attraction Robs the vast sea. Shak., T. of A., iv. 3. 440.
A great body of salt water; a more or less distinctly limited or landlocked part of the ocean having considerable dimensions. Such seas are frequently limited or separated from each other by linear groups of islands; this is especially the case on the Pacific coast of Asia, and in the East Indies, where there are more seas in this sense than anywhere else. Smaller areas thus more or less completely inclosed by land are known as bays, gulfs, sounds, etc. Thus, we speak of the Mediterranean Sea and, as a smaller division of this, the Adriatic Sea; but of the Gulf of Taranto, and the Bay of Naples. The name sea is not now usually given to entirely landlocked sheets of water—such use being either traditional, as in the Dead Sea, Sea of Galilee, or exceptional, as in the Caspian Sea, Sea of Aral. Sea, bay, and gulf are more or less synonymous terms. Thus, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal do not differ essentially in the extent to which they are landlocked; the same may be said of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea; and Hudson's Bay might equally well, or even more properly, be called Hudson Sea. And this deed See hathe in brede est and west. vj. legges, and in lengthe northe and southe. v. dayes journey; and nyghe unto the sayd see it is comonly darke as hell. Sir R. Guylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 53. Northwardis to the kingdom of Surr, And to the se of Cipres, in sum place. Torkington, Diarie of Eng. Travell, p. 38.
Any widely extended or overwhelming mass or quantity; an ocean; a flood: as, a sea of difficulties; a sea of upturned faces. So she, deep-drenched in a sea of care, Holds disputation with each thing she views. Shak., Lucrece, l. 1100.

43 more from this dictionary »

View all »
Examples (50)

I seem to recall the sea was an awful lot closer than it is today, that looking out from the school one could see the smooth surface of the water of the bay. — Irish Blogs
To Honor the sea was as a second element. — The New Girl at St. Chad's A Story of School Life
For the sea was always open, and a landing party from the Britomart might have lain unseen in any of the fir copses or hidden behind the knolls Black and narrow ran the Mays, that at other times flowed so wide and brown and free. — Patsy
I met her when we first came on board, but as the sea was a little too rough for her she had to retire to her room, and I hardly think that we will have the pleasure of seeing her again before tomorrow. — Fred Fearnot's New Ranch and How He and Terry Managed It
He wanted to go, for the sea was as smooth as a mill-pond--a rare thing in winter; and perhaps we should have to wait for some time before another such day arrived He looked at me and I wanted to go too. — Devon Boys A Tale of the North Shore

More examples »

Stats

This word has been looked up 176 times.

Photos from

Add a related word »
Related

Used in the Same Context

river · ocean · water · land · mountain · wave · sky · wind · rock · island · earth · world

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

Middle English see, from Old English sǣ.

Century Dictionary (1)

Formerly also see, se; from Middle English see, se, earlier sæ, from Anglo-Saxon sǣ (feminine, in some forms masculine: genitive sǣ, sǣwe, seó, feminine, sǣes, sǣs, masculine, dative sǣ, feminine and masculine; plural sǣ, feminine, sǣs, masculine, dative sǣm, sǣum, sǣwum, feminine and masculine), the sea, water (as opposed to air or to land), a sea, a lake (glossed by L. mare, æquor, pontus, pelagus, marmor), = Old Saxon sēo, sēu, sē (accusative sēo, sē, dative sēwa, sēwe), masculine, = OFries. sē = Middle Dutch see, Dutch zee = Middle Low German sē, Low German see = Old High German sēo, sēu, sē, Middle High German sē, masculine and feminine, sea, lake, G. see, feminine, the sea, masculine, a lake, = Icelandic sǣr = Swedish sjö = Danish sö = Goth, saiws, masculine, sea, lake, also swamp-land, also in comp. marisaiws (marei = English mere), a lake. Some compare the word with L. sævus, wild, cruel, or with Gr.αἰόλος, movable; but there is no evidence to show that the name orig. implied ‘raging water’ or ‘moving water.’

Pronunciations
Record your own »

/si/

by American Heritage

Hear a sound »

Charts

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word several times a day.

sea

View all »
Definitions (61)

American Heritage Dictionary (11)

Century Dictionary (46)

GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

WordNet (3)

Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

Tags

Stats

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Wordniks Suggest

Used in the Same Context

Word Family

Etymologies (2)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

Century Dictionary (1)

Pronunciations
Record your own »

Charts

Recently looked up

Recent Favorites

Recent Pronunciations

sea

View all » Definitions (61)

View all » Examples (50)

Tags

Stats

stop updating On Twitter

Photos from

Add a related word » Related

related words:

synonyms:

cross reference:

antonym:

synonym:

Etymologies (2)

Pronunciations Record your own »

Charts

Recently looked up

Recent Favorites

Recent Pronunciations

View all »
Definitions (61)

View all »
Examples (50)

stop updating
On Twitter

Add a related word »
Related

Pronunciations
Record your own »