seven seas

plural noun

|Updated on: 9 Jul 2018

Definition of seven seas

: all the waters or oceans of the world

Recent Examples of seven seas from the Web

The seven points of her crown stand for the seven seas, the seven continents, and the idea that freedom is and should always be something to be strived for throughout the world.

— brooke bobb, Vogue, "This Fourth of July, Let’s Remember the Symbolism of Freedom Behind Lady Liberty’s Green Robe," 4 July 2018
According to some accounts, in fact, Bartholdi went out of his way to make the statue non-controversial, designing the crown with seven rays to represent the seven seas and seven continents orbiting the sun.

— dan wolken, USA TODAY, "Please IOC. If the Statue of Liberty violates policy, just scrap the anthems. And flags.," 13 Feb. 2018
Usually it is assumed that Britain’s empire appeared and then Britain’s food trade—that vast tonnage of tea, flour, sugar, bully beef and Crosse & Blackwell pickle that swept across the seven seas—appeared to feed it.

— The Economist, "British imperial historyHow food created the British empire," 19 Oct. 2017
In Rijeka, in Croatia, local authorities have secured EU funding to restore the Galeb, the once-sumptuous yacht on which Josip Broz Tito, the Yugoslav leader, once sailed the seven seas.

— The Economist, "Palace insidersMany eastern Europeans feel nostalgia for the communist era," 12 Oct. 2017
Of the seven sea turtles found around the globe, six travel through U.S. waters and are therefore protected under the Endangered Species Act.

— National Geographic, "13 Graceful Pictures of Rare Sea Turtles," 16 June 2017
For now, the SeaLife Center staffers are adjusting to life as the surrogate mothers for seven sea otters.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "Orphans of the ocean," 7 May 2016

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