maritime
Americanadjective
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associated with the sea or waterways to the sea in relation to navigation, shipping, etc..
Maritime commerce accounts for trillions of dollars in annual U.S. economic activity.
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of or relating to the sea or waterways to the sea.
maritime resources.
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bordering on the sea.
picturesque maritime towns.
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living near or in the sea.
maritime plants.
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characteristic of a sailor; nautical.
She stands on the foredeck, glad to be wearing her maritime rain gear.
adjective
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of or relating to navigation, shipping, etc; seafaring
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of, relating to, near, or living near the sea
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(of a climate) having small temperature differences between summer and winter; equable
Other Word Forms
- nonmaritime adjective
- unmaritime adjective
Etymology
Origin of maritime
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin maritimus “pertaining to the sea,” equivalent to mari- (stem of mare “sea”) + -timus adjective suffix
Explanation
Use maritime to describe anything involving the sea and ships. A maritime museum would probably be located in a coastal town, and stuffed full of historic boats, oars, life preservers, and fishing gear. Maritime comes from the Latin word maritimus, which means "of the sea," so the meaning hasn't evolved much. Whales and dolphins are maritime animals, and according to maritime law, the captain of a ship can marry two people at sea. It's very similar to nautical, except nautical refers to ships, and maritime covers ships and other ocean-related stuff.
Vocabulary lists containing maritime
The Constitution of the United States
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Refugee
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Vocabulary from the Constitution of the United States
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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.
On April 7, the day before the cease-fire was announced, 11 vessels transited the strait—four inbound and seven outbound—down from more than 100 a day before the war, according to Windward, a maritime AI company.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Ship transits through the strait have risen slightly since the cease-fire on Wednesday, but traffic remains “well below” normal levels, maritime data company Marine Traffic said on Friday.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
The tidal Scheldt river estuary is the main maritime access route to Antwerp port, along with several narrower canals primarily used for inland navigation.
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
If America were to abandon its insistence on secure navigation in international waters, it would reverse U.S. foreign and security policy since the maritime Quasi-War with France in 1798.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
“I was convinced,” he stated, “that the seabed contained memories of maritime civilizations that had never been recorded. What historians had missed, the sea remembered.”
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
