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sea floor

sea floor

13 2.8
The ground under the sea or ocean
  • noun
  • /siː flɔːr/
translation icon : fondo marino
  • Mapping the sea floor revealed underwater mountains and valleys.
  • sediment on the sea floor
  • surface of the sea floor

I mean, we have found evidence for life miles beneath the sea floor.

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Examples

  • Now scientists have discovered huge craters on the sea floor that suggest giant blowouts of methane.

  • The whole sea floor was visible in the clarity of water that day.

  • So what we can see now is, first of all, that the sea floor has shape.

  • It's some kind of sea floor station.

  • Probably on impact with the sea floor.

  • This whole area of the sea floor is stable,

  • Dive to the sea floor, and you enter an incredible world.

  • The platform is attached to the sea floor and sits in about 200 m of water.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Sea water seeps down through cracks in the sea floor.

  • Hazards like this send geologists racing to explore the sea floor.

Synonyms

bottom
vssea floor
1.0

The lowest part or surface of a thing, often under water

applies specifically to the lowest area under the sea or ocean
ocean floor
vssea floor
27 2.9

The bottom of the sea or ocean with plains, ridges, and trenches

refers only to the simple bottom surface without geological detail
seabed
vssea floor
14 2.4

The ground at the bottom of the sea where sand and rocks lie

focuses on the flat surface rather than the ground beneath
seafloor
vssea floor
10 2.7

The bottom of the sea or ocean

is written as two words rather than one
ocean bottom
vssea floor
3 3.7

The lowest part of the sea where sand and mud rest

refers to the general bottom surface not limited to deepest parts
sea bottom
vssea floor
2 2.5

The floor of the sea where sand, rocks, and animals live

is the neutral compound form rather than a simple noun phrase

How Deep

trench
  • Specialized
14 6.8
abyssal
  • Specialized
1 9.4
sea floor
13 2.8
continental slope
  • Specialized
1 7.4
continental shelf
  • Specialized
4 5.5

Surface Forms

sea floor singular
sea floors plural

Morphology

sea + floor

The meaning 'the bottom surface of a sea or ocean' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'sea' (a large body of saltwater) with 'floor' (a bottom or surface), so the compound denotes the sea's bottom. This noun–noun composition follows a common, cross-linguistically familiar pattern and would be readily understood by a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Sea floor comes from a simple picture: imagine the sea has a solid floor under the water where sand, rocks and sea creatures rest. That's why 'sea floor' means the bottom surface of a sea or ocean.