sea breeze

American  

noun

1. a thermally produced wind blowing from a cool ocean surface onto adjoining warm land.

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sea breeze British  

noun

1. a wind blowing from the sea to the land, esp during the day when the land surface is warmer

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sea breeze Cultural  

1. The breeze that blows from the sea toward the land during the day, as air rising over the warmer land is replaced by cooler air from above the sea. (Compare land breeze.)

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Etymology

Origin of sea breeze

First recorded in 1690–1700

Compare meaning

How does sea-breeze compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• land breeze vs. sea breeze

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sea breeze

"When the sea is warm, we get less alleviation at nighttime because there's no coolness coming from the ocean. There's no sea breeze," Burgess said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

Bottle bio: From the North Fork of Long Island, N.Y., it opens with aromas of lime zest, green apple, white peach and sea breeze.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

Things are expected to then cool off a bit Friday due to a stronger sea breeze and partly cloudy skies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026

And warmer waters can reduce the cooling effect that coastal populations would usually get from the sea breeze.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2025

They wore dark frock coats, top hats they held against the sea breeze, and shiny shoes that probably hadn’t walked on honest granite ever before.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt