cross sea

American  

noun

Oceanography, Nautical.

1. a sea with a choppy surface produced by the intersection of waves from different storms.

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Etymology

Origin of cross sea

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

The day was foggy, and a heavy, cross sea and lumpy waves kept the men miserably wet.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

It was not of sufficient violence to overcome their efforts, but it held them back and stirred up a nasty cross sea into which the canoe plunged and wallowed.

From The Silver Horde by Beach, Rex Ellingwood

The cross sea was increasing, and the bank to the northwest was larger and blacker, while the mare's tails and mackerel scales had given way to cirrus clouds that raced across the sky.

From The Wreck of the Titan or, Futility by Robertson, Morgan

The violence and variableness of the wind soon raised a very rough and cross sea, which frequently broke over us, making every thing fly from side to side, and producing the greatest disorder.

From A Voyage Round the World, Volume I Including Travels in Africa, Asia, Australasia, America, etc., etc., from 1827 to 1832 by Holman, James

The sum of such conflicting currents makes up a "cross sea," where everything is possible, from the favoring tide that leads to safety, to the swell and storm of utter shipwreck.

From The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. II (of II) by Lever, Charles James