seawater

seawater — noun

1. the salty water that fills the oceans and seas covering most of the Earth's surf

1.nounA2
Definition

the salty water that fills the oceans and seas covering most of the Earth's surface

Example

Emre took a sample of seawater from the bay for his science project.

collocation: take a sample of seawater

The desalination plant removes the salt from seawater to make drinking water.

collocation: remove salt from seawater

Common collocations
  • take a sample of seawater
  • remove salt from seawater
  • wipe seawater off
  • seawater contains
  • exposure to seawater
  • seawater levels
  • seawater temperature
  • pump seawater
Synonyms
  • salt water

    broader term; includes any water containing dissolved salt, not just ocean water

  • brine

    much more concentrated salt solution, either natural (salt lakes) or artificial; not the same as typical seawater

  • sea water

    alternative spelling of seawater, less common in modern usage

Antonyms
  • fresh water

    water with very low salt content, found in rivers and lakes

Grammar Patterns

seawater + verb (as subject: Seawater contains …)

modifier: seawater + noun (seawater temperature, seawater levels)

Usage Note

Seawater is an uncountable noun and is never used with 'a' or in the plural form ('a seawater', 'seawaters'). It commonly appears as a modifier before other nouns, as in 'seawater temperature' or 'seawater intrusion'.

Common Mistakes

The seawater in this bottle is from the beach.
The water in this bottle is from the beach.
Use 'seawater' only for water that is still in or directly from the sea, not for a sample already removed from its natural context.

Word family

  • sea
    nounA1
  • water
    nounA1
  • salty
    adjectiveA2
  • saltwater
    adjectiveB1
  • seaworthy
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Seawater is the precise term for the slightly salty water found in oceans and seas, with a salt concentration of about 3.5%. 'Salt water' is a broader category that includes any water containing dissolved salt — from a salted cooking pot to the Dead Sea. 'Brine' refers to extremely salty water, far more concentrated than seawater, often created artificially for food preservation or found in salt lakes. The one-word adjective 'saltwater' is used before nouns such as 'fish', 'aquarium', or 'environment' to describe things that live in or relate to salty ocean water. For example: 'The aquarium keeps both freshwater and saltwater fish.' 'After swimming in the ocean, you can taste the saltwater on your lips.'

seawater ↗salt waterbrinesaltwater

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • exposure to seawater
  • remove salt from seawater

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

Seawater is a compound word formed from Old English 'sǣ' (meaning 'sea') and 'wæter' (meaning 'water'). Both elements trace back to Proto-Germanic roots — '*saiwiz' for sea and '*watōr' for water — making this a very old term in the Germanic language family.