sea power

Definition of sea power

1 : a nation having formidable naval strength

2 : naval strength

Examples of sea power in a Sentence

Britain was the world's greatest sea power at one time. a massive increase in sea power

Recent Examples on the Web Yet these lumbering leviathans wouldn’t have been feasible without the implicit protection of American sea power. — Washington Post, "The Hydrocarbon Era’s Spectacular End," 7 Aug. 2019 In 1907, 16 Navy battleships, which came to be known as the ‘‘Great White Fleet,’’ set sail on a 14-month round-the-world voyage to demonstrate American sea power. — BostonGlobe.com, "In 1653, Oliver Cromwell became lord protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland.," 16 Dec. 2019 Vengeance will not be complete until Japanese sea power is reduced to impotence. — Olivia B. Waxman, Time, "The Real World War II History Behind the Movie Midway," 8 Nov. 2019 Britain’s sea power, imperialism, parliamentary government, and majority-Protestant religion set it apart from its European neighbors — and not just because of its geographical isolation. — Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, "Is England Still Part of Europe?," 12 Sep. 2019 In 2017, engineers working on a sub-sea power link discovered what is believed to be the wreckage of a lost World War II Royal Air Force bomber off the coast of Norway. — Fox News, "Eerie US WWII fighter plane that crashed off UK coast given protected status," 12 Nov. 2019 If, however, Iran ignores this array of international sea power and bombs a ship, blasts a U.S. drone, or otherwise misbehaves, Trump already will have in place — just a few miles away — potential partners for a multilateral reprisal. — Deroy Murdock, National Review, "Trump Should Assemble a Multinational Naval Convoy," 28 June 2019 The other shift, less heralded, was Sea Plan 2000, a bold new idea for reviving American sea power in the face of a Soviet bid for naval supremacy. — Arthur Herman, WSJ, "‘Oceans Ventured’ Review: A Bold Plan to Make Waves," 22 July 2018 The escalating territorial disputes in the Pacific between China and America’s allies create an ever-more-urgent need for U.S. sea power. — Seth Cropsey, WSJ, "America Can’t Afford to Cede the Seas," 14 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sea power.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about sea power

Dictionary Entries near sea power

sea post office

Statistics for sea power

Last Updated

19 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Sea power.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sea%20power. Accessed 17 Feb. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

probity

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

More Confusing Words—Quiz

The magician ______ moved the selected card to the top of the deck.

discretely discreetly

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.