Толковый словарь английского языка

[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. | 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. | 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 | 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 | British territorial waters | the calm waters of the harbour | dangerous waters | 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. | the Bay of Biscay

▪ gulf a very large area of sea partly enclosed by land: the Gulf of Mexico | 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 ? | High tide (=when the sea is at its highest level)is at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. | low tide (=when the sea is at its lowest level) | 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.