adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of seaworthy
Explanation
A seaworthy boat or ship is in good enough condition to safely be taken on an ocean trip. The Titanic, famously, proved not to be seaworthy. As you drive your car onto an enormous ferry bound for Martha's Vineyard, you might worry a little about whether it's seaworthy — those cars are heavy! When something is seaworthy, it's good enough, or worthy, to travel on the sea, even during stormy conditions. This word dates from the early 19th century. The Old English version was særof, "hardy at 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.
"The submarine met all standards and requirements. It is false that it was not seaworthy."
From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026
The department argues that this week's deaths in the Channel demonstrate the "increasingly extreme measures the gangs are willing to contemplate as more people are crammed into less seaworthy vessels".
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2024
These features, along with previous reconstruction experiments, indicate these were seaworthy vessels, a conclusion supported by the presence at the site of stone tools linked to nearby islands.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 20, 2024
Coast Guard said there were no injuries to the 19 crew members aboard the vessel, Genius Star XI, and that it remained seaworthy.
From New York Times ● Dec. 30, 2023
By then, my mother had acquired a motor-boat, a small and not very seaworthy white wooden vessel which sat far too low in the water and was powered by an unreliable one-cylinder engine.
From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl
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.
