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Synonyms

sea lane

American  

noun

  1. a standard navigational route for ships traversing an ocean or sea.


sea lane British  

noun

  1. an established route for ships

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of sea lane

First recorded in 1875–80

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.

See Examples For:

The initial talks may well focus largely on Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz and the price Tehran sets for relaxing its grip on the vital sea lane.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 12, 2026

Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates pipelines bypass the strait, but those volumes are about 10% of the sea lane.

From Barron's Mar. 18, 2026

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin also announced the arrest of a fifth suspected trafficker thought to have been involved in what was the deadliest migration tragedy to date on the dangerous sea lane.

From Seattle Times Nov. 25, 2021

The companies will also study developing Russian ports at both ends of the sea lane — in Murmansk and Vladivostok — to handle the transfer of containers from ice-class ships to ordinary ones.

From New York Times Jul. 23, 2021

Our merchant seamen, in addition, are carrying supplies to them and to our allies over every sea lane.

From State of the Union Address by Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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