seawater

[see-waw-ter, -wot-er]

noun

1. the salt water in or from the sea.

seawater

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of seawater¹

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

Example Sentences

The facility would scrub seawater from the Gulf and yield up to 36 million gallons of potable drinking water a day starting in 2028.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A crane able to lift 50 tonnes loads various things, from submersible robots to so-called CTD instruments measuring electrical conductivity, temperature and seawater pressure.

Read more on Barron's

These tiny algae remove carbon from seawater, release oxygen, and create delicate calcite plates that eventually sink to the ocean floor.

Read more on Science Daily

But around 6.2 million years ago, seawater from the Indian Ocean surged across this barrier in a catastrophic flood.

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The southern Chinese cities of Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou - all located in Guangdong - were braced for seawater intrusion from about midday local time.

Read more on BBC