sea level
Americannoun
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sea levels
plural
noun
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The level of the ocean's surface. Sea level at a particular location changes regularly with the tides and irregularly due to conditions such as wind and currents. Other factors that contribute to such fluctuation include water temperature and salinity, air pressure, seasonal changes, the amount of stream runoff, and the amount of water that is stored as ice or snow.
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◆ The reference point used as a standard for determining terrestrial and atmospheric elevation or ocean depths is called the mean sea level and is calculated as the average of hourly tide levels measured by mechanical tide gauges over extended periods of time.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sea level
First recorded in 1800–10
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.
“The sea level off the coast of Southern California is now six to 10 inches above average,” Swain said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
And they can stack on top of each other: So it might be that the temporary sea level rise from one of these Kelvin waves doesn’t fully decline before the next peak arrives,” Swain said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
"Typically, Thismia species are known to occur in perennially humid lowland rainforests. However, this population was discovered in a seasonal, montane evergreen forest at an elevation of nearly 1,000 meters above sea level."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
The glacier in question lies to the north of Langtang Lirung, a peak more than 7,000 metres above sea level in the Himalayas.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
They were about 4,000 feet above sea level, and the temperature was as Alpine as the terrain.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
