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.
On October 1, it fell to an elevation of 735.34 metres above sea level -- fully 14.66 metres below where it should be.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Even as high as 3,500 metres above sea level, scientists found no snow remaining at the end of summer.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
By redistributing enormous amounts of heat through the Atlantic, it helps shape regional temperatures, rainfall patterns, sea level, and weather.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
The Panama Canal relies on rainwater for its complex system of locks, which lifts ships almost 90 feet above sea level onto a navigable waterway, and then lowers them at the other end.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
A hug from Mom hadn’t fixed it, but it had pulled Cat’s heart from the bottom of the Mariana Trench to somewhere around sea level.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
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.
