seawater

American  

[see-waw-ter, -wot-er] / ˈsiˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /

noun

seawaters plural

1. the salt water in or from the sea.

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seawater Scientific  

/ sē′wô′tər /

1. Salt water, normally with a salinity of 35 parts per thousand (3.5%), in or coming from the sea or ocean. Although seawater contains more than 70 elements, most seawater salts are ions of six major elements: chloride, sodium, sulfate, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. The major sources of these salts are underwater volcanic eruptions, chemical reactions involving volcanic matter, and chemical weathering of rocks on the coasts. Seawater is believed to have had the same salinity for billions of years.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• seawaters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of seawater

before 1000; Middle English see water, Old English sǣwæter; see sea, water

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

seawater seawaters

The buckets are gathered back in the car park and the crop is carefully placed in a barrel of cool seawater to be taken for processing.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Her body happened to be the same density as seawater, meaning that she neither floated nor sank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

The impact would have instantly excavated the crater while blasting huge volumes of rock, sediment, and seawater into the atmosphere.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 30, 2026

One of the two canals that irrigate it has been shut because the seawater would enter and damage the crops.

From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026

Burning seawater streamed down its sides, and it let loose a soul-crushing bellow as it began to pick up speed.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

The rocket parts were found near seawaters where the Philippine Space Agency had earlier warned the public the debris would likely fall.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 9, 2022

Philippine Space Agency official Marc Talampas said authorities have been advised to be on the lookout for the rocket debris, which may have splashed down into seawaters off Palawan province.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 31, 2022

The good news is that we can change the games we play much easier than we can change our agricultural infrastructure, or evacuate the billions who live in the path of rising seawaters.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2016

A few cars have been damaged—or, as McKie described it, “ruined” by “surging seawaters that corrode and rot their innards.”

From Time ● Jul. 14, 2014