marine
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the sea; existing in or produced by the sea.
marine vegetation.
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pertaining to navigation or shipping; nautical; naval; maritime.
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serving on shipboard, as soldiers.
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of or belonging to the marines.
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adapted for use at sea.
a marine barometer.
noun
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marines
plural
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a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.
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one of a class of naval troops serving both on shipboard and on land.
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seagoing ships collectively, especially with reference to nationality or class; shipping in general.
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a picture with a marine subject; seascape.
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naval affairs, or the department of a government, as in France, having to do with such affairs.
idioms
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dead marine, an empty bottle of beer or spirits.
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tell it / that to the marines! I don't believe your story; I refuse to be fooled.
adjective
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of, found in, or relating to the sea
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of or relating to shipping, navigation, etc
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of or relating to a body of seagoing troops
marine corps
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of or relating to a government department concerned with maritime affairs
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used or adapted for use at sea
a marine camera
noun
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shipping and navigation in general
the merchant marine
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(capital when part of a name) a member of a marine corps or similar body
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a picture of a ship, seascape, etc
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informal an expression of disbelief
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Relating to the sea.
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Relating to a system of open-ocean and unprotected coastal habitats, characterized by exposure to wave action, tidal fluctuation, and ocean currents and by the absence of trees, shrubs, or emergent vegetation. Water in the marine system is at or near the full salinity of seawater.
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Compare lacustrine palustrine riverine
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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intermarineadjective
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nonmarineadjective
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semimarineadjective
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supermarineadjective
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unmarineadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of marine
1325–75; Middle English maryne < Middle French marin (feminine marine ) < Latin marīnus of the sea, derivative of mare sea; see -ine 1
Explanation
If it has to do with the ocean or sea, you can call it marine. Your friend in the U.S. Armed Services who is a Marine probably spends a lot of time near the ocean. Marine life is everything that lives in the water: plants, fish, sharks, algae, crabs, seahorses, giant squid, and the list goes on and on. When you study things that live in or near the sea, you are either a marine biologist or just really excited about ocean life. If you work in a field that deals with the ocean, boats, sailors or the navy you could be, for instance, a marine meteorologist.
Vocabulary lists containing marine
Something's Fishy: A Fresh Catch of Aquatic Words
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Pacific Islands - Introductory
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Pacific Islands - Middle School and High School
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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.
See Examples For:
Whales seem less inclined to flee from electric boats, said marine scientist Giulia Ercoletti, now the head of training at Brim.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The discovery may also help scientists build a clearer picture of marine ecosystems in the northwestern Pacific during the Cretaceous Period.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
“Today’s guilty plea makes clear that harming or harassing our marine wildlife has serious consequences.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Balloon fragments are the marine debris most likely to kill seabirds that eat it, according to a recent study, external.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
She was sitting up and looking out the window at the marine layer, frowning slightly.
From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English
They then travel from a parking lot in a shuttle operated by park authorities and cross a military checkpoint guarded by armed South Korean marines.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
Drones will be distributed across South Korea’s army, navy, air force and marines in the coming years, Ahn said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
A US Marine Corps Forces Pacific spokesperson said the Australian facility will support equipment and supplies for marines operations and exercises across the Indo Pacific.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Footage published by Centcom shows US marines rappelling from a helicopter on to the deck of a ship, said to be the oil tanker Celestial Sea, in the Gulf of Oman.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
Sergeant Simpson said that the marines had done the bulk of it in the past but that they were digging in up north to establish positions for the Tet truce.
From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
