territorial waters
plural noun
: the waters under the sovereign jurisdiction of a nation or state including both marginal sea and inland waters
Examples of territorial waters in a Sentence
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Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, a longtime Florida political consultant, justified military action within Venezuelan territorial waters — not just in international waters — in a wide-ranging interview with Vanity Fair released this week.
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Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 16 Dec. 2025
The British military carried out a similar shadowing operation in July, after spotting the Russian sub Novorossiysk in its territorial waters.
—CBS News, 12 Dec. 2025
The series turns on an incident in 1981, when a Soviet U-137 ‘Whiskey’-class submarine ran aground on rocks deep inside Swedish territorial waters — in the middle of a sensitive Swedish naval exercise.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 26 Nov. 2025
An oil tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz was intercepted by smaller vessels and diverted into Iranian territorial waters, the private security firm Ambrey said on Friday.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
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Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 16 Dec. 2025
The British military carried out a similar shadowing operation in July, after spotting the Russian sub Novorossiysk in its territorial waters.
—CBS News, 12 Dec. 2025
The series turns on an incident in 1981, when a Soviet U-137 ‘Whiskey’-class submarine ran aground on rocks deep inside Swedish territorial waters — in the middle of a sensitive Swedish naval exercise.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 26 Nov. 2025
An oil tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz was intercepted by smaller vessels and diverted into Iranian territorial waters, the private security firm Ambrey said on Friday.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for territorial waters
Cite this Entry
“Territorial waters.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/territorial%20waters. Accessed 24 Dec. 2025.
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