: the direction or side away from land and toward the open sea
1
: directed or situated toward the sea
2
: coming from the sea
a seaward wind
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2023
Four Seasons is expanding seaward.
—Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 29 Sep. 2022
With a design team led by Shawn Sullivan, a partner at David Rockwell's The Rockwell Group, Somewhere Else promises a languid and fluid visual line -- from cascading pools that draw the eye seaward to polychrome room concepts with color accents found in dashes throughout the property.
—Nick Remsen, CNN, 19 Jan. 2022
Antarctic ice shelves are the seaward extension of the world’s largest army of glaciers, and provide a stabilizing function.
—Chris Mooney, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Feb. 2023
Its seaward snout remains pressed against the undersea mountain ridge, which crests roughly 400 meters underneath the ocean’s surface.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2022
The 26-building complex is seaward of other Oceanside residential development, on the sand near the Oceanside harbor.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Nov. 2022
Looking seaward, Meckel points to a line of oil platforms squatting on the horizon.
—Wired, 29 July 2022
Others are more erratic, creating fleeting bursts of seaward-flowing water on smooth, open beaches.
—Chloe Williams, The Atlantic, 20 June 2022
David Ferry, Outside Online, 22 June 2016
The picturesque fishing village of Blue Rocks, less than four miles seaward, also beckons.
—Walter Nicklin, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2022
The building, however slipped seaward too rapidly and the plan had to be abandoned.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 July 2022
The hope was that the easterlies tumbling seaward from the dry lungs of California’s San Bernardino Valley would slingshot her past Catalina Island and to 125 degrees west longitude, where the currents would shift in her favor.
—Andrew Lewis, Outside Online, 22 Oct. 2020
Multiple sharks milled by the inlet, where sandbars are often packed with gray seals and their scent drifts seaward on dropping tides.
—New York Times, 20 Oct. 2021
The Makai Makai means seaward in the Hawaiian language.
—Laura Manske, Forbes, 2 Sep. 2021
Some species like Spanish mackerel may move seaward in lower Mobile Bay with the rains, though the lower salinity doesn’t bother trout and reds much.
—Frank Sargeant, al, 2 July 2021
As the glacier below it began to shift, the entire camp moved with it, sliding 20 inches or more a day as the ice sheet drifted seaward.
—Matt Schudel, Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2020
Justin Beal, Harper’s Magazine , 14 Dec. 2022
At the first sight of tuna, the sea lions begin zigzagging and porpoising on the seaward side of the school, gradually driving the fish toward the other end of the cove.
—Stephanie Stone, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2018
The ground on the seaward side of the panels will be back-filled so the tiebacks will not be visible when the work is finished.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Nov. 2022
Any infrastructure that France built in Central Africa had to enable their seaward dispatch to the metropole.
—Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 6 Aug. 2021
The seaward side of the still house has a huge picture window looking out over the Atlantic.
—Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 20 June 2021
Recent measurements showed the most seaward portion of the house at 245 Pacific is just 22 feet from the edge of the cliff, the staff report states.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 June 2021
The inland walls, some fairly small but others up to 13 feet high, would divide neighborhoods, leaving homes on the seaward side with less protection.
—New York Times, 2 June 2021
Scaffolding lines the seaward side of the boxy concrete building, and there’s more at the top of its distinctive 400-foot-tall smokestack.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Oct. 2020
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Noun
Though California generally owns the beach seaward from the mean high tide line, private owners can still claim beach property.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2023
Four Seasons is expanding seaward.
—Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 29 Sep. 2022
With a design team led by Shawn Sullivan, a partner at David Rockwell's The Rockwell Group, Somewhere Else promises a languid and fluid visual line -- from cascading pools that draw the eye seaward to polychrome room concepts with color accents found in dashes throughout the property.
—Nick Remsen, CNN, 19 Jan. 2022
Antarctic ice shelves are the seaward extension of the world’s largest army of glaciers, and provide a stabilizing function.
—Chris Mooney, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Feb. 2023
Its seaward snout remains pressed against the undersea mountain ridge, which crests roughly 400 meters underneath the ocean’s surface.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2022
The 26-building complex is seaward of other Oceanside residential development, on the sand near the Oceanside harbor.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Nov. 2022
Looking seaward, Meckel points to a line of oil platforms squatting on the horizon.
—Wired, 29 July 2022
Others are more erratic, creating fleeting bursts of seaward-flowing water on smooth, open beaches.
—Chloe Williams, The Atlantic, 20 June 2022
Adverb
Rips flow seaward, out to deep water, so beach access signs across the country advise swimmers to paddle parallel to the beach to escape the them.
—David Ferry, Outside Online, 22 June 2016
The picturesque fishing village of Blue Rocks, less than four miles seaward, also beckons.
—Walter Nicklin, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2022
The building, however slipped seaward too rapidly and the plan had to be abandoned.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 July 2022
The hope was that the easterlies tumbling seaward from the dry lungs of California’s San Bernardino Valley would slingshot her past Catalina Island and to 125 degrees west longitude, where the currents would shift in her favor.
—Andrew Lewis, Outside Online, 22 Oct. 2020
Multiple sharks milled by the inlet, where sandbars are often packed with gray seals and their scent drifts seaward on dropping tides.
—New York Times, 20 Oct. 2021
The Makai Makai means seaward in the Hawaiian language.
—Laura Manske, Forbes, 2 Sep. 2021
Some species like Spanish mackerel may move seaward in lower Mobile Bay with the rains, though the lower salinity doesn’t bother trout and reds much.
—Frank Sargeant, al, 2 July 2021
As the glacier below it began to shift, the entire camp moved with it, sliding 20 inches or more a day as the ice sheet drifted seaward.
—Matt Schudel, Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2020
Adjective
On the seaward side of the bridge, the canal widens to meet the harbor.
—Justin Beal, Harper’s Magazine , 14 Dec. 2022
At the first sight of tuna, the sea lions begin zigzagging and porpoising on the seaward side of the school, gradually driving the fish toward the other end of the cove.
—Stephanie Stone, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2018
The ground on the seaward side of the panels will be back-filled so the tiebacks will not be visible when the work is finished.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Nov. 2022
Any infrastructure that France built in Central Africa had to enable their seaward dispatch to the metropole.
—Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 6 Aug. 2021
The seaward side of the still house has a huge picture window looking out over the Atlantic.
—Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 20 June 2021
Recent measurements showed the most seaward portion of the house at 245 Pacific is just 22 feet from the edge of the cliff, the staff report states.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 June 2021
The inland walls, some fairly small but others up to 13 feet high, would divide neighborhoods, leaving homes on the seaward side with less protection.
—New York Times, 2 June 2021
Scaffolding lines the seaward side of the boxy concrete building, and there’s more at the top of its distinctive 400-foot-tall smokestack.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Oct. 2020
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'seaward.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near seaward
Cite this Entry
“Seaward.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seaward. Accessed 6 Jun. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
seaward
1 of 3 noun
sea·ward
ˈsē-wərd 
: the direction or side away from land and toward the open sea
seaward
2 of 3 adjective1
: going or located toward the sea
2
: coming from the sea
a seaward wind
seaward
3 of 3 adverb
variants
also seawards
-wərdz
: toward the sea
More from Merriam-Webster on seaward
Britannica English: Translation of seaward for Arabic Speakers
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