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

When the next streetcar rolls in, the upper deck fills with a gaggle of schoolgirls, squabbling over who gets the window seat closest to the sea breeze.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

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

From BBC • Jul. 11, 2025

Temperatures are expected to drop over the weekend, as an increase in air flowing in from the Pacific Ocean will bump up the marine layer clouds and the influence of the sea breeze, Schoenfeld said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2024

What would normally have been a pleasant sea breeze along the eastern coast of Florida was instead a hazy plume of smoke on Tuesday.

From New York Times • Oct. 3, 2023

And even the trees in dead center were near enough that the sea breeze could take the ball into their branches—if he could hit it high enough.

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