SEAWATER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does seawater mean? 

• SEAWATER (noun)
  The noun SEAWATER has 1 sense:

1. water containing salts

  Familiarity information: SEAWATER used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SEAWATER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Water containing salts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

brine; saltwater; seawater

Context example:

the water in the ocean is all saltwater

Hypernyms ("seawater" is a kind of...):

H2O; water (binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent)

Meronyms (substance of "seawater"):

atomic number 35; Br; bromine (a nonmetallic heavy volatile corrosive dark brown liquid element belonging to the halogens; found in sea water)

atomic number 53; I; iodin; iodine (a nonmetallic element belonging to the halogens; used especially in medicine and photography and in dyes; occurs naturally only in combination in small quantities (as in sea water or rocks))

atomic number 19; K; potassium (a light soft silver-white metallic element of the alkali metal group; oxidizes rapidly in air and reacts violently with water; is abundant in nature in combined forms occurring in sea water and in carnallite and kainite and sylvite)

atomic number 11; Na; sodium (a silvery soft waxy metallic element of the alkali metal group; occurs abundantly in natural compounds (especially in salt water); burns with a yellow flame and reacts violently in water; occurs in sea water and in the mineral halite (rock salt))

common salt; sodium chloride (a white crystalline solid consisting mainly of sodium chloride (NaCl))

calcium chloride (a deliquescent salt; used in de-icing and as a drying agent)

evaporite (the sediment that is left after the evaporation of seawater)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "seawater"):

red tide (seawater that is discolored by large numbers of certain dinoflagellates that produce saxitoxin)

 Context examples 

Marine sponges obtain food and oxygen by filtering seawater through the pores and channels in their bodies.

(Bacteria living in marine sponge produce toxic compounds found in man-made products, NSF)

The scientists analyzed seawater samples from an ocean region where oxygen is almost absent, forcing life to seek other strategies.

(Arsenic-breathing microbes discovered in the tropical Pacific Ocean, National Science Foundation)

As the oceans churn and cold plumes snake around, ice in the uppermost ocean layer, called "Ice III," could form in the seawater.

(Ganymede may harbor 'club sandwich' of oceans and ice, NASA)

Ongoing work shows that a reef's health can alter the number and type of microbes in seawater, say the scientists, highlighting the consequences of altering reef habitats.

(Bacteria living near coral reefs change in synchrony across distances, National Science Foundation)

Water cycling through the ancient ocean crust was different than today's seawater, with much more high-temperature interactions that could have enriched the ocean with the heavy isotopes of oxygen.

(Scientists determine early Earth was a ‘water world’ by studying exposed ocean crust, National Science Foundation)

This finding therefore opens a novel field of the greatest interest, about microbial precipitation in seawater and the role of extracellular polymeric substances in mineral precipitation and the absorption of diverse metals.

(Researchers discover the oceanic precipitation mechanism for barium, which is a proxy for marine bacterial productivity, University of Granada)

Each drop of seawater contains hundreds of thousands of microorganisms — organisms so small that they are invisible to the naked human eye.

(Study by UGR and MIT reveals microbial plankton live in complex communities, University of Granada)

Researchers took seawater samples and measurements that offer insights into the microbial community.

(Microbes reflect the health of coral reefs, National Science Foundation)

Another changing feature is a glacier's grounding line - the place near the edge of the continent where it lifts off its bed and starts to float on seawater.

(Huge Cavity in Antarctic Glacier Signals Rapid Decay, NASA)

Beaupré and colleagues performed experiments showing that some of this ancient matter is removed from seawater when wave-generated air bubbles burst on the ocean surface and inject aerosols into the atmosphere.

(Ancient molecules from the sea likely burst into the air from ocean waves, National Science Foundation)