sea
(siː )
Word forms: seas
1. singular noun [oft by NOUN] A1
The sea is the salty water that covers about three-quarters of the Earth's surface.
Most of the kids have never seen the sea.
All transport operations, whether by sea, rail or road, are closely monitored at all times.
Synonyms: ocean, the deep, the waves, the drink [informal]
2. plural noun B2
You use seas when you are describing the sea at a particular time or in a particular area. [literary]
He drowned after 30 minutes in the rough seas.
The seas are warm further south.
3. countable noun A1
A sea is a large area of salty water that is part of an ocean or is surrounded by land.
...the North Sea.
...the huge inland sea of Turkana.
4. singular noun [NOUN of noun]
A sea of people or things is a very large number of them together.
Down below them was the sea of upturned faces.
His eyes ran over the sea of bottles and glasses on the table.
Synonyms: mass, lot, lots [informal], army
5. all at sea phrase [usually verb-link PHRASE]
You can say that someone is all at sea when they are in a state of confusion or uncertainty. [journalism]
If you had never seen a telly ad, you would be all at sea with popular culture.
6. at sea phrase B2
At sea means on or under the sea, far away from land.
The boats remain at sea for an average of ten days at a time.
Synonyms: bewildered, lost, confused, puzzled
7. to sea/out to sea phrase B2
If you go or look out to sea, you go or look across the sea.
...fishermen who go to sea for two weeks at a time.
He pointed out to sea.
Vocabulary Builder
THE SEASIDE sand sunbed sea beach towel waves parasol Quotations:
the wine-dark seaIliad
ocean: a body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man - who has no gillsThe Devil's Dictionary
Idioms:
there are plenty more fish in the sea
said to mean that there are still many other people who you might have a successful relationship with in the future, even though your romance or love affair has ended
If your daughter is upset because her boyfriend left her, telling her that `there are plenty more fish in the sea' won't help.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
be between the devil and the deep blue sea [mainly British]
to be in a difficult situation where the two possible courses of action or choices that you can take are equally bad
We are between the devil and the deep blue sea: if we pay our rent, we won't have any money for food.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
all at sea [British] or at sea
very confused by a situation; unable to understand a situation
When he was in prison, he knew at least where he stood. Now that he's been released, he's all at sea.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
a sea change [literary]
a complete change in someone's attitudes or behaviour
Supermarkets have a huge influence on what we eat and will continue to do so until there is a sea change in political thinking on food.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Collocations:
azure sea blue sea calm sea freezing sea heavy seas overlook the sea rough sea sail the seas sea sponge sea spray sea storm sea voyage sea washes sea wind sparkling sea stormy sea surrounded by a sea of territorial sea tropical sea tropical seas turbulent seas turquoise sea vast sea warm sea
From the large terrace on top of the tower, you look east to a sparkling line of azure sea four miles away.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Walk along the front on a sunny day and see soft green hills slipping into azure seas.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There are not many cities where you can swim in azure seas just a short walk from the centre.
The Sun (2013)
When I was young, I dreamt of sunshine, a warm blue sea and fast cars.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
This impressive fortress rises above the ancient streets and offers breathtaking views of the lush land below and blue sea beyond.
The Sun (2012)
The first thing I noticed was that the blue of the sea caught the blue of his eyes.
Tommy Cooper: Always Leave Them Laughing (2006)
They were now in bright sunshine and calm seas.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The calm sea appears to be a dull silver against the dark sky.
Crawshaw's Watercolour Studio (1993)
During my time on board the weather was sunny and the sea calm.
The Sun (2012)
A shop worker leapt in the freezing sea after spotting a drowning man who had fallen off a pier.
The Sun (2011)
One of the female bears goes swimming in the freezing sea.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Until the 1990s Sakhalin Island a remained largely untouched wilderness because of freezing seas, difficult terrain and its use as a military base.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
51 bodies were recovered despite heavy seas.
Titanic - Destination disaster (1987)
Some boats are built to handle heavy seas, some to skip around shallow lakes.
Christianity Today (2000)
The raft, driven by a strong wind in heavy seas, moved ahead faster than he could swim.
Christianity Today (2000)
It's a great, friendly family-run restaurant with a beautiful terrace overlooking the sea.
The Sun (2008)
Four of the five bedrooms overlook the sea and neighbouring golf course.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The racetrack is perched on a clifftop and overlooks the sea.
Times, Sunday Times
Remember that beaches can be dangerous in rough seas.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
There were strong winds and rough seas.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Until the following spring the islands were cut off by rough seas.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
When you're not sailing the high seas it's worth hiring a quad bike.
The Sun (2015)
It was compiled from the tales of merchants who sailed the seas 2,000 years ago.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The desire to sail the high seas is spreading to other nations.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We have a long discussion about sea sponge, which looks like litter, but almost certainly isn't.
Times, Sunday Times
Stripes don't bother me but, strange to admit, clusters of small holes do: a sea sponge, plant spores, honeycomb, the suckers on a shower mat.
Times, Sunday Times
Being dolphins, however, one of them found a solution: she broke off a sea sponge, put it on her snout and used it as protection when foraging.
Times, Sunday Times
Early aquaculture research into optimising techniques for sea sponge aquaculture used a number of farming methods.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
This results in a profitable family business which conforms to traditional discourses of family farms, increasing the likelihood of sea sponge aquaculture adoption.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
To get the flavour of the place, time your visit for a terrific storm, when sea spray lashes the bedroom windows.
Times, Sunday Times
Researchers have proposed brightening clouds, making sea spray more reflective, or even launching a giant mirror into space to reflect extra sunlight.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
But the winds helped to disperse the oil, although polluted sea spray blew inland, contaminating water supplies and pastures.
Times, Sunday Times
We bumped out across the waves, sea spray flaying the last of any bravado from our ranks.
Times, Sunday Times
You want to see the very grain of the wooden deck, glistening with sea spray?
Times, Sunday Times
These can be eroded during the occurrence of high river flow or sea storm events.
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That night, a fierce sea storm overturns the yacht.
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He was considered an expert in sea storms, and wrote many articles about them.
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But there are others, who are forced to come to this island by sea storms.
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On the sea storming from the battle of nations.
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Boat drills would become part of every sea voyage.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
A sea voyage is just what you want after a big lunch.
The Sun (2016)
It was like seeing green grass again after a long sea voyage.
KANDAHAR COCKNEY: A Tale of Two Worlds (2004)
See it before the sea washes it all away.
Times, Sunday Times
The sea washes the fossils out of the mud and leaves them to be found amongst the shingle between the boulders.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Under normal circumstances, the sea washes over the neck of the spit taking sand from the seaward side and redepositing it on the landward side.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
When that sea wind makes landfall it rises into towering clouds and bursts with rain.
Times, Sunday Times
The road corkscrews downhill into the blue abyss, before hitting a cyclone of sea wind.
Times, Sunday Times
The eternal sea wind has streamlined the clifftop woods into a smooth curve that bends inland, with hardly a twig breaking the continuous line of the treetops.
Times, Sunday Times
While topaz dragons enjoy the feel of sea wind and spray on their faceted-scale hides, they do not particularly like the water.
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The tiny intricate windows gives one feeling to be out in open, through which cool sea wind passes out.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
From the terrace, you'll glimpse the sparkling sea through the pine trees.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
On a sparkling sea the yachts scattered and edged away from land.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It may be famous for white sands and sparkling seas, but the island is dogged by drugs and gang violence.
The Sun (2014)
He was feared dead after being swept away in stormy seas.
The Sun (2013)
Ten tourists and five crew members remain missing after their boat hit a coral reef during stormy seas on Friday night.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It was like driving a lifeboat through a stormy sea.
Whicker's War
I am surrounded by a sea of altos.
Times, Sunday Times
Hundreds of make-shift shacks constructed of cardboard and plastic sheeting are surrounded by a sea of putrid refuse.
The Sun
They were surrounded by a sea of cricketers, officials and medical staff.
Times, Sunday Times
But he was surrounded by a sea of anxiety.
The Sun
Yet this can't hide the fact that it's a vast mall surrounded by a sea of parking, so — fail.
Times, Sunday Times
The meeting point of the territorial sea of the three countries however has not been determined.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
In casual use, the term may include the territorial sea and even the continental shelf.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
All three nations are entitled outside the closing line to territorial sea, continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Territory means internal waters, territorial sea and archipelagic waters, the seabed and subsoil beneath, the land territory and the airspace above them.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Maritime claims are a 200-nautical-mile (370 km) exclusive fishing zone, and a 12-nautical-mile (22 km) territorial sea.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
You feel truly remote - look out at the horizon and there's nothing but tropical sea and a few specks of island.
Times, Sunday Times
Now other tropical sea snakes will be studied to see if they use the ruse.
The Sun
The area was once a vast tropical sea and the cliffs and beaches are full of fossils.
The Sun
Some tourists preferred to admire the tropical sea away from the water's edge.
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Fossils show that the area was once a tropical sea.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
The shrimps live in shallow, tropical seas on opposite sides of Panama.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
This is typical El Niño weather, when tropical seas in the Pacific warm up.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The atmosphere over the tropical seas is hostile for hurricanes.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
It took several hours in increasingly turbulent seas to get back to port.
Times, Sunday Times
Overhead there roiled a projection of, by turns, stormy skies, turbulent seas and fire.
Times,Sunday Times
These powerful seabirds spread enormous wings, sometimes reaching an eleven-foot span, and glide above turbulent seas.
Christianity Today
For most of the period, she was buffeted by turbulent seas.
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As a result of turbulent seas, beachings and shipwrecks were common.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
The white sand and turquoise sea of the Maldives is the perfect background for a romance.
The Sun (2014)
The bravest of us leapt 20ft into the turquoise sea.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
It's tucked in a little bay, which is lapped by beautiful turquoise sea.
The Sun (2014)
This overlooks two vast sea stacks that are covered in gannets.
Times, Sunday Times
There wasn't any water lapping about, obviously, but the vast sea of cat-litter gave the same effect.
Times, Sunday Times
In a vast sea of over-bright and useless lighting, the vulnerable are easily overlooked.
Times, Sunday Times
The ocean's archaeology has been described as that of a ring of coast surrounding a vast sea, scattered with islands.
Times, Sunday Times
So the latest vast sea scorpion to be discovered comes as a bit of bathos from the bathysphere.
Times, Sunday Times
Being able to swim in the warm sea was exciting.
The Sun (2012)
It's a jagged coastline of secluded bays and pine forests lapped by warm, turquoise sea.
The Sun (2016)
We have chosen two of our popular beach resorts for you to relax in the sunshine or to sail in the beautiful warm sea of the Mediterranean.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Translations:
Chinese: 海
Japanese: 海
- indiscreet
- indiscretion
- indiscriminate
- indiscriminate destruction
- indiscriminately
- indiscriminate use of
- indiscriminate violence
- indispensable
- indispensable part of
- indispensable role
- indispensable tool
- indisposed
- indisputable
- indisputable evidence
- indisputable fact
- indisputably
- in dispute
- in disrepair
- in disrepute
- indistinct
- indistinctly
- indistinguishable
- individual
- individual achievement
- individual act