Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

seawater

/sˈiwˌɑtɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.12 in modern English

Syllables: sea-wa-ter
IPA: /sˈiwˌɑtɚ/

11

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The saltwater of a sea or ocean.

Uncountable

adj

Consisting of seawater.

adj

Associated in some way with seawater, or intended for dealing with seawater.

Example Sentences

"The continual seawater splashes corroded our equipment"
"The sharks in the aquarium had to be kept in a seawater tank"
"Aboard the ship we needed seawater soap for washing our clothes"
"Though it was a nuisance to arrange them, we found the seawater showers very refreshing"

Etymology

From Middle English seewater, se water, from Old English sǣwæter (“seawater”), equivalent to sea + water. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Seewoater (“seawater”), West Frisian seewetter (“seawater”), Dutch zeewater (“seawater”), Icelandic sjóvatn (“seawater”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: seewater, sǣwæter

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

seawaters (plural) sea water (alternative)

Synonyms

brine saltwater

Questions

How do you pronounce seawater?: The recorded pronunciation is /sˈiwˌɑtɚ/.
What does seawater mean?: The saltwater of a sea or ocean.
Where does seawater come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce seawater

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “seawater”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/sˈiwˌɑtɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “seawater”.
Repeat and practice — Say “seawater” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.