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sea power

sea power

1 4.8
A country's strength at sea, shown by a powerful navy that controls the seas
  • noun
translation icon : poder naval
  • The country's investment in its navy enhanced its sea power, enabling it to influence global trade routes.

Also, the Chinese never became had sea power because there were no ports in China, he wrote.

Examples

  • Naval exercises are essential for demonstrating a nation's sea power and ensuring maritime security.

  • With the new war alliance with France, it was obvious that the new French sea power eclipsed the British sea power on the American coast.

    Academic text (1992)
  • England at this time was becoming a major commercial sea power, and it was again a trading country, a huge trading country.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Also examined are the historic relationships between sea power, economic development, and commercial interests, including the development of trade in marine resources.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Enjoy At its peak, the Carthaginian Navy was considered to be one of the most powerful sea powers of antiquity.

  • Britain is able to project sea power across oceans against local combatants like Argentina in the Falklands War.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The British, a great sea power at the time, had a vested interest in terminating the power of these mercenaries.

    Blog text (23)
  • The counterpart today to Britain's sea power and ability to manage world trade in the nineteenth century is the U.S. with its ability to project military-naval power worldwide.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Before World War II, Australia's most fundamental relationship was with the United Kingdom, not just because of ties of kinship, empire, and sentiment, but also because Britain was the pre-eminent global sea power, which could afford the island continent of Australia protection from the north.

    Academic text (2003)
  • In the 18th century, the dominance of Britain as a sea power allowed it to expand its empire significantly.

Synonyms

navy
vssea power
203 2.0

The part of a country's military that fights at sea

emphasizes the country's strength at sea rather than the branch itself
naval forces
vssea power
  • Specialized
5 3.4

Military ships and the people who use them to fight at sea

focuses on overall sea strength rather than specific ships or units

How Powerful

sea power
1 4.8
navy
203 2.0
combat ship
1 5.3

Surface Forms

sea power singular
sea powers plural

Morphology

sea + power

The meaning 'the strength of a country's navy' is directly compositional from 'sea' (maritime domain) + 'power' (ability or strength); this follows the common English pattern X + power = strength in domain X. The concept is also cross-linguistically regular (e.g. Spanish 'poder marítimo', French 'puissance maritime'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will very likely infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Sea power comes from the image of a country having strong forces on the ocean — its ships and sailors who can control trade and win battles at sea. So the words sea (the ocean) and power (strength) together mean a country with a strong 'navy' or control of the seas.