sea S2 W1 / si / 名词

1 [可数和不可数名词] especially British English the large area of salty water that covers much of the Earth’s surface 同义词 ocean :

Jay stripped his clothes off and ran into the sea.

Most exports went by sea .

a little cottage by the sea

He spent over 30 years at sea .

They stood side by side looking out to sea .

2 [可数名词] a large area of salty water that is mostly enclosed by land :

the Mediterranean Sea

3 sea of something a very large number of people or things that all look similar :

He looked out at the sea of faces.

4 (all) at sea confused or not sure what to do :

Living in a foreign country can mean you’re always at sea about what’s going on.

5 the seas literary the sea – used especially when you are not talking about a particular ocean

across the seas (= far away )

They came from lands across the seas.

6 [可数名词] one of the broad areas that seem flat on the moon and Mars

COLLOCATIONS

形容词

blue The sun shone brightly upon the clear blue sea.

calm The sea was perfectly calm.

rough (= with big waves ) The sea was too rough to swim in.

choppy (= with a lot of small waves ) The wind was starting to pick up and the sea was becoming choppy. | The yachts bobbed around on the choppy sea.

heavy seas (= a rough sea ) The tanker split apart and sank in heavy seas.

a stormy sea a picture of a battleship in a stormy sea

the open sea (= the part of the sea that is far away from land ) Rescuers are trying to drive the stranded whales back out into the open sea.

the deep sea (= the water deep under the surface of the sea ) The deep sea is the most unexplored area left on the planet.

动词

cross the sea Our ancestors crossed the sea in small boats.

go to sea (= go to work on a ship ) He went to sea when he was eighteen.

put to sea (= sail a boat away from land ) The refugees put to sea in rickety rafts.

be lost at sea formal (= be drowned in the sea ) His father had been lost at sea three months before.

be swept out to sea (= be taken far away from land by the sea ) They had to rescue three young canoeists who were swept out to sea.

sea + NOUN

sea water Removing salt from sea water is an expensive process.

a sea view All the bedrooms have a sea view.

sea level Average sea levels are rising year on year.

the sea air (= the air close to the sea ) He breathed in the fresh sea air.

the sea bed ( also the sea floor ) (= the land at the bottom of the sea ) A lot of these small creatures feed on the sea bed.

THESAURUS

the sea especially British English the large area of salty water that covers much of the Earth’s surface : She lives by the sea. | The sea was very rough.

the ocean especially American English the large area of salty water that covers much of the Earth’s surface : a house by the ocean | The restaurant had a sweeping view of the ocean.

waters a large area of water – used about an area of water that belongs to a particular country, or when describing what the water is like : boats fishing in Canadian waters | British territorial waters | the calm waters of the harbour | dangerous waters | choppy waters (= with a lot of waves )

bay an area of sea that is partly enclosed by a curve in the land : I swam across the bay. | the Bay of Biscay

gulf a very large area of sea partly enclosed by land : the Gulf of Mexico | oil from the Gulf (= the area of water near Iran, Saudi Arabia etc )

tide the regular rising and falling of the level of the sea : Is the tide going out or coming in ? | High tide (= when the sea is at its highest level ) is at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. | low tide (= when the sea is at its lowest level ) | The rocks are visible at low tide.

wave a line of raised water that moves across the surface of the sea : The waves were crashing against the rocks.