sea level
Americannoun
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sea levels
plural
noun
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The level of the ocean's surface. Sea level at a particular location changes regularly with the tides and irregularly due to conditions such as wind and currents. Other factors that contribute to such fluctuation include water temperature and salinity, air pressure, seasonal changes, the amount of stream runoff, and the amount of water that is stored as ice or snow.
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◆ The reference point used as a standard for determining terrestrial and atmospheric elevation or ocean depths is called the mean sea level and is calculated as the average of hourly tide levels measured by mechanical tide gauges over extended periods of time.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sea level
First recorded in 1800–10
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 curved concrete gravity dam towered 1,835 feet above sea level in the San Francisquito Canyon, about 30 miles northwest of L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The 43-year-old was born in a small village in Nepal's mountainous Myagdi district, located around 1,600m above sea level.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
His team tested the Freefly drone after it arrived in Nepal and found it could lift 33 pounds at sea level.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Scientists say the next 30 to 50 years could offer a crucial opportunity to forecast Antarctic ice loss and prepare for the sea level rise it may cause.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
Situated 11,300 feet above sea level, Namche occupies a huge, tilting bowl proportioned like a giant satellite television dish, midway up a precipitous mountainside.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
