sea level
Americannoun
noun
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The level of the ocean's surface. Sea level at a particular location changes regularly with the tides and irregularly due to conditions such as wind and currents. Other factors that contribute to such fluctuation include water temperature and salinity, air pressure, seasonal changes, the amount of stream runoff, and the amount of water that is stored as ice or snow.
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◆ The reference point used as a standard for determining terrestrial and atmospheric elevation or ocean depths is called the mean sea level and is calculated as the average of hourly tide levels measured by mechanical tide gauges over extended periods of time.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sea level
First recorded in 1800–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After earlier testing a model that can carry a roughly 65-pound payload at sea level, Airlift deployed the DJI FlyCart 100 drone at Everest for this spring’s climbing season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Despite the scale of the threat, the path of sea level rise through 2100 remains highly uncertain.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
He lives in Albuquerque, N.M., about a mile above sea level, and he and his wife converted their bedroom into an altitude chamber to add about 3,000 more feet of elevation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
“I am excited to get to work supporting the city’s long-term fiscal sustainability, preparing for sea level rise, and building a strong organization that delivers exceptional service.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Obviously, the notion that the height of a mountain could be measured from sea level could establish itself only after this view had been abandoned.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
