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• seine
  seine

  noun

  a fishing net that hangs vertically in the water, having floats at the upper edge and sinkers at the lower.
• Seine
  Seine

  noun

  a river in France, flowing NW through Paris to the English Channel. 480 miles (773 km) long.

seine

¹ American  

[seyn] / seɪn /

noun

seines plural

1. a fishing net that hangs vertically in the water, having floats at the upper edge and sinkers at the lower.

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verb (used with object)

seines, present (3rd person singular) seined, past participle, past seining present participle

1. to fish for or catch with a seine.

2. to use a seine in (water).

verb (used without object)

seines, present (3rd person singular) seined, past participle, past seining present participle

1. to fish with a seine.

Seine ² American  

[seyn, sen] / seɪn, sɛn /

noun

1. a river in France, flowing NW through Paris to the English Channel. 480 miles (773 km) long.

2. a former department in N France.

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seine ¹ British  

/ seɪn /

noun

1. a large fishing net that hangs vertically in the water by means of floats at the top and weights at the bottom

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verb

1. to catch (fish) using this net

Seine ² British  

/ seɪn, sɛn /

noun

1. a river in N France, rising on the Plateau de Langres and flowing northwest through Paris to the English Channel: the second longest river in France, linked by canal with the Rivers Somme, Scheldt, Meuse, Rhine, Saône, and Loire. Length: 776 km (482 miles)

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• seines
  plural

Participles

• seining
  present
• seined
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• seine
  simple
• seines
  simple
• have seined
  perfect
• has seined
  perfect
• am seining
  progressive
• are seining
  progressive
• is seining
  progressive
• have been seining
  perfect progressive
• has been seining
  perfect progressive

Past

• seined
  simple
• had seined
  perfect
• was seining
  progressive
• were seining
  progressive
• had been seining
  perfect progressive

Future

• will seine
  simple
• will have seined
  perfect
• will be seining
  progressive
• will have been seining
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of seine

before 950; Middle English seyne, Old English segne < West Germanic *sagina < Latin sagēna < Greek sagḗnē fishing net

Example Sentences

Many birds drown in purse seine nets each year.

From BBC • Oct. 14, 2025

The fishing practices, including trawling and the use of gill and seine nets, were shown to cause physical pressures such as abrasion, smothering, siltation and total habitat loss.

From Science Daily • Nov. 20, 2024

Using a seine net, they formed a circle and pulled up their catch.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 28, 2024

The most common method used to catch oily fish is known as "seine" fishing, one of the most environmentally friendly fishing techniques in use today:

From Salon • Apr. 23, 2024

We were going to seine this pool of water, when uncle came down to where we were and wanted to know what we were doing.

From A Trip to California in 1853 Recollections of a Gold Seeking Trip by Ox Train across the Plains and Mountains by an Old Illinois Pioneer by Bailey, Washington