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territorial waters
plural noun
: the waters under the sovereign jurisdiction of a nation or state including both marginal sea and inland waters
Examples of territorial waters in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For the first time since the annual exercise started in 1991, the Philippines and the United States will conduct joint naval drills beyond the 12 nautical miles of the Philippines’ territorial waters, in parts of open sea claimed by China, officials said.
—Rebecca Tan, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
To this day, Chinese ships continue to encroach into Japanese territorial waters, blatantly disregarding warnings issued by the Japanese Coast Guard.
—Tomohiko Taniguchi, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2024
Navy special forces from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used a helicopter to board and seize a container ship, IRNA news reported, adding that the MSC Aries was being transferred to Iranian territorial waters.
—Henry Austin, NBC News, 13 Apr. 2024
In addition to the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia are a few other claimants of the islands and the territorial waters around them.
—Emily Feng, NPR, 11 Apr. 2024
In order to help prevent and control the spread of gastrointestinal illnesses on cruises, all ships are subject to inspection by the CDC when operating in US ports and territorial waters.
—Scott Laird, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Mar. 2024
Those picked up within Italy’s territorial waters, or by rescue ships operated by nongovernmental organizations, would retain their right under international and EU law to apply for asylum in Italy and have their claims processed there.
—Llazar Semini, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb. 2024
Norway’s push to start deep-sea mining in its territorial waters has created a massive rift in the European Parliament as lawmakers debated the policy and whether to intercede.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 20 Jan. 2024
Photograph: Manuel Romano/Getty Images The Norwegian Parliament voted this week to allow companies to scour its territorial waters for mining opportunities.
—Eliza Gkritsi, WIRED, 12 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'territorial waters.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1841, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of territorial waters was
in 1841
Dictionary Entries Near territorial waters
Cite this Entry
“Territorial waters.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/territorial%20waters. Accessed 14 May. 2024.
Legal Definition
territorial waters
noun plural
territorial wa·ters
: the waters under the sovereign jurisdiction of a nation or state including both marginal sea and inland waters
More from Merriam-Webster on territorial waters
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about territorial waters
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