What does "sea" mean?
A large body of salt water.
Sea
/siː/ name, noun
name, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A large body of salt water.
- Grammar: sea is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: ocean, abundance, acres, aquatic body.
- Useful contrasts: danish ground, french terrain, italian terreno.
- Usage evidence: I live near the sea, so I often get to go to the beach.
How to use "sea"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sea" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sea" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sea" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sea" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sea" is acting as name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ocean" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sea", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A large body of salt water.
"God moves in a myſterious way, / His wonders to perform; / He plants his footſteps in the ſea, / And rides upon the ſtorm."
- 2 Initialism of Strategic Environmental Assessment. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable
- 3 a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land wordnet
- 4 A large body of salt water.; The ocean; the continuous body of salt water covering a majority of the Earth's surface.
"These ſhal ye eat, of all that are in the waters: whatſoeuer hath finnes and ſcales in the waters, in the ſeas, and in the riuers, them ſhall ye eate."
- 5 turbulent water with swells of considerable size wordnet
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 A large body of salt water.; A body of salt water smaller than an ocean, generally forming part of, or connecting with, an ocean or a larger sea.
"The Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean Sea, the Sea of Crete, etc."
- 7 anything apparently limitless in quantity or volume wordnet
- 8 A lake, especially if large or if salty or brackish.
"The Caspian Sea, the Sea of Galilee, the Salton Sea, etc."
- 9 A single wave; billow.
"One ſea broke away the ſpare yards and ſpars out of the ſtarboard main chains. Another heavy ſea broke into the ſhip and ſtove all the boats. Several caſks of beer, that had been laſhed upon deck, were broke looſe and waſhed overboard, and it was not without great difficulty and riſk that we were able to ſecure the boats from being waſhed away entirely."
- 10 The swell of the sea, especially when high or rough.
"“Where can they be?” he cried. “They cannot have gone down, for there has been no sea, and they were afloat after the yacht sank—I saw them all.”"
- 11 Living or used in or on the sea; of, near, or like the sea. attributive, in-compounds
"Seaman, sea gauge, sea monster, sea horse, sea level, seaworthy, seaport, seaboard, etc."
- 12 Anything resembling the vastness or turbulence of the sea in mass, size or quantity. figuratively
"To be, or not to be, that is the queſtion, / Whether tis nobler in the minde to ſuffer / The ſlings and arrowes of outragious fortune, / Or to take Armes againſt a ſea of troubles, / And by oppoſing, end them, to die to ſleepe / No more, and by a ſleepe, to ſay we end / The hart-ake, and the thouſand naturall ſhocks / That fleſh is heire to; […]"
- 13 A constant flux of gluons splitting into quarks, which annihilate to produce further gluons.
- 14 A large, dark plain of rock; a mare.
"The Apollo 11 mission landed in the Sea of Tranquility."
- 15 A very large lake of liquid hydrocarbon.
Proper Noun
- 1 Abbreviation of Seattle. abbreviation, alt-of
- 2 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 3 Synonym of Mediterranean Sea.
- 4 Initialism of Southeast Asia. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 5 A hamlet in Ilminster parish, South Somerset district, Somerset, England (OS grid ref ST3413). countable, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Initialism of Single European Act. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Antonyms
danish groundfrench terrainitalian terrenoromanian teren
Example
"I live near the sea, so I often get to go to the beach."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sea"?
Common synonyms include: ocean, abundance, acres, aquatic body, aral, bags.
How do you use "sea" in a sentence?
I live near the sea, so I often get to go to the beach.
How do you pronounce "sea"?
Pronounced /siː/.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English see, from Old English sǣ, from Proto-West Germanic *saiwi (“body of water”), from Proto-Germanic *saiwiz, itself either: * Derived from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂ey-wo- (“to be fierce, afflict”). Related to Latin saevus (“wild, fierce”), Tocharian B saiwe (“itch”), and Latvian sievs, sīvs (“sharp, biting”). More at sore. * Derived from Proto-Germanic *sīhwaną (“to percolate, filter”), from Proto-Indo-European *seykʷ-. Cognates Cognate with Yola zea, zee (“sea”), North Frisian See, sia, siie (“sea; lake”), Saterland Frisian See, Säi (“sea”), West Frisian see (“sea”), Cimbrian, Mòcheno sea (“lake”), Dutch zee (“sea”), German, German Low German See (“sea”), Limburgish Sië, zieë (“sea, ocean; lake”), Luxembourgish Séi (“lake”), West Flemish zji (“sea; seaside”), Danish sø (“sea; lake”), Faroese sjógvur (“sea; big wave”), Icelandic sjár, sjór, sær (“sea”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk sjø (“sea, ocean; lake”), Swedish sjö (“sea; lake; big wave”), Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍅𐍃 (saiws, “lake, sea; marshland”).