seawater

American  

[see-waw-ter, -wot-er] / ˈsiˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /

noun

• seawaters
  plural

1. the salt water in or from the sea.

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seawater Scientific  

/ sē′wô′tər /

1. Salt water, normally with a salinity of 35 parts per thousand (3.5%), in or coming from the sea or ocean. Although seawater contains more than 70 elements, most seawater salts are ions of six major elements: chloride, sodium, sulfate, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. The major sources of these salts are underwater volcanic eruptions, chemical reactions involving volcanic matter, and chemical weathering of rocks on the coasts. Seawater is believed to have had the same salinity for billions of years.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• seawaters
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of seawater

before 1000; Middle English see water, Old English sǣwæter; see sea, water

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

seawater seawaters

Scientists say this marine heat wave has caused seawater levels to rise 1.25 to 1.8 feet higher than they would just from the movement of the moon, Earth and sun.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

As tides rise and fall, the water lifts the ice and repeatedly exposes its underside to warm, pressurized seawater.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2026

The restoration project at Steart Marshes was completed in 2014, transforming former farmland into a coastal wetland by allowing seawater to flow back across the fields.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

In Newport Beach on Sunday, the seawater had already reached a high of 8 feet, city officials said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

“It hasn’t rained for a while, and the river mixes with the seawater when the tide is up. It’ll be better when the tide goes out. Or if it rains. That’s what Master Percy said.”

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

The rocket parts were found near seawaters where the Philippine Space Agency had earlier warned the public the debris would likely fall.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 9, 2022

Philippine Space Agency official Marc Talampas said authorities have been advised to be on the lookout for the rocket debris, which may have splashed down into seawaters off Palawan province.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 31, 2022

The good news is that we can change the games we play much easier than we can change our agricultural infrastructure, or evacuate the billions who live in the path of rising seawaters.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2016

A few cars have been damaged—or, as McKie described it, “ruined” by “surging seawaters that corrode and rot their innards.”

From Time ● Jul. 14, 2014

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