sea glass

noun

variants or less commonly sea-glass

ˈsē-ˌglas 

plural sea glasses also sea-glasses

: small pieces of glass that have been physically and chemically weathered by exposure to the sea and that typically have a frosted and often pitted appearance

Walkers can spot sea glass, shells, weathered bottles or stray fishing floats washed in from offshore.

—Mandy Applegate

Where regular gems are made by nature and then refined by humans, sea glass is man-made but then refined by nature.

—Callum Osment

Her art includes pieces crafted with pencil, watercolour, acrylic, pen and ink, and sometimes collage materials like shells and sea-glass.

—Miranda Norris

compare beach glass

Word History

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above