Synonyms

sea wall

American

noun

a strong wall or embankment to prevent the encroachments of the sea, serve as a breakwater, etc.

sea wall British

noun

a wall or embankment built to prevent encroachment or erosion by the sea or to serve as a breakwater

"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

Other Word Forms

sea-walled

adjective

Etymology

Origin of sea wall

before 1000; Middle English; Old English: cliff over the sea

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:

sea wall

Recent weeks have seen a sea wall damaged in Long Beach, staircases destroyed in San Diego County and dozens of oceanfront mansions tagged as unsafe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

On another nearby property overlooking an ancient sea wall, excavations revealed two stone quarries "one Roman and the other Phoenician", she said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026

HM Coastguard said the children were helped on Friday evening in Fleetwood after they got into difficulty in rough seas "a significant distance out from the sea wall".

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has highlighted a failing tidal valve and crumbling sea wall which are letting salt water flood grazing marshland and wash away birds' nests and reed beds.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

I’ll never forget that tall, lonely figure standing on the sea wall The S.S.

From "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023