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Glite Dictionary
🚢 A ship route 🌅 Sea horizon 🏝️ A coastline
sea line

sea line

3.9
A regular ship route that carries goods or people between ports
  • noun
translation icon : ruta marítima
  • The company launched a new sea line to improve the transport of goods between the ports of Shanghai and Rotterdam.

Examples

  • Many goods are transported across continents using established sea lines.

  • The closure of the sea line caused delays in international shipping schedules.

  • The company launched a new sea line to connect Asia and Europe more efficiently.

  • The sea line to Europe is very busy.

  • Many ships follow the sea line from Asia to America.

  • Many goods are transported across the globe via established sea lines that link major trade hubs.

  • The recent addition of a new sea line has enhanced passenger travel options between the islands.

Synonyms

sea lane
vssea line
3 4.2

A regular route at sea used by ships and boats

includes that path plus the transport service between ports
seaway
vssea line
  • Specialized
3 4.4

A route through the sea that ships use to travel between places

focuses also on the transport service connecting ports, not just the lane
steamship line
vssea line
  • Archaic
1 4.7

A company that operates steamships to carry people and goods across the sea

refers instead to a route and its transport service between ports
ship route
vssea line
2.3

A path at sea that boats follow regularly

adds organized transport service between ports to that path

Surface Forms

sea line singular
sea lines plural

Morphology

sea + line

The meaning 'the apparent line on the horizon where the surface of the sea seems to meet the sky' is directly and compositionally derived from 'sea' (a body of water) and 'line' (a dividing or marking line). This follows a transparent noun+noun compound logic that a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer, even if the exact collocation is not very frequent.

Etymology

Sea line comes from thinking of a line of ships following the same path across the sea. Like a bus 'line', this meant a regular 'route' or service between ports, so now it means a regular shipping route.