seaway

noun sea·way \ ˈsē-ˌwā \

Updated on: 3 May 2018

Definition of seaway

1 : the sea as a route for travel; also : an ocean traffic lane

2 : a moderate or rough sea

3 : a deep inland waterway that admits ocean shipping

See seaway defined for kids

Recent Examples of seaway from the Web

The average annual cargo loads carried by those seaway vessels has since plummeted to the point that today it could be carried by a single inbound and outbound train from the East Coast.

— dan egan, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Senate drops measure to exempt ship ballasts from Clean Water Act," 18 Apr. 2018
The Navy has accepted that the 389-foot long, 3,400-ton Little Rock won’t be able to get under way to her home port of Mayport, Florida until the seaway reopens.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The U.S. Navy’s Newest Ship Is Trapped in Canada," 22 Jan. 2018
Later, The National Weather Service in Juneau said the warning was lifted from the Washington border, British Columbia and up to Alaska’s Hinchinbrook Entrance, a seaway southeast of Anchorage.

— brian murphy, Washington Post, "Tsunami warnings lifted after massive quake off Alaska," 23 Jan. 2018
Existing in a warm, shallow seaway between today’s Rocky and Appalachian mountains, plesiosaurs lived alongside mosasaurs, the apex predator of their day, resembling a type of watery Komodo dragon.

— jack dura, The Seattle Times, "80 million-year-old remains prepped for North Dakota display," 15 Jan. 2018
As the region warms faster than any other in the world, different industries — from oil production to defense to tourism — are eyeing the newly accessible seaways.

— kelsey lindsey, Alaska Dispatch News, "Coast Guard tests new oil spill technology as Arctic waters open up," 3 Sep. 2017
Researchers hope to use the finished product to help reconstruct the complex environment of the seaway.

— erin blakemore, Smithsonian, "Scientists Are Putting Tens of Thousands of Sea Fossils Online," 22 June 2017
After death, its carcass ended up back-first on the muddy floor of an ancient seaway, where its front half was preserved in 3-D with extraordinary detail.

— robert clark, National Geographic, "It's Official: Stunning Fossil Is a New Dinosaur Species," 3 Aug. 2017
Scientists already have an idea of what life was like in the seaway, though.

— erin blakemore, Smithsonian, "Scientists Are Putting Tens of Thousands of Sea Fossils Online," 22 June 2017

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