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Glite Dictionary
territorial waters

territorial waters

6 4.9
The area of sea near a country's coast that the country controls
  • noun
  • /ˌtɛrɪˈtɔriəl ˈwɔtərz/
  • Specialized
: aguas territoriales
  • The coast guard is responsible for patrolling the country's territorial waters to prevent illegal fishing.
  • the territorial waters of a country

So they were skirting the territorial waters of other countries.

Examples

  • The coast guard warned the ships not to enter Japan's territorial waters, but the four surveillance ships ignored this order.

    Blog text (1)

  • So they were skirting the territorial waters of other countries.

    Shawn Ryan Show

  • You are in Chinese territorial waters.

    Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

  • The territorial waters of the country are rich in fish and seafood products.

    Academic text (1992)

  • We're drifting due north, and straight into Iranian territorial waters.

    Deadwater (2008)

  • We're twelve miles off the coast because I can't risk sailing through Chinese territorial waters.

    Secret Sharer (2014)

  • Inside territorial waters, such crimes constitute armed robbery at sea and are the responsibility of the coastal state.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Han's island rests partly within our territorial waters.

    Enter the Dragon (1973)

  • In addition, many Pacific island states receive income from licensing fees paid by foreign-operated fishing boats for access to their territorial waters.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Israel controls the airspace and territorial waters around Gaza and routinely makes illegal incursions across its borders.

    Blog text (13)

Antonyms

high sea
  • Specialized
23 4.6

An area of the sea outside any country's waters

international waters
18 3.4

Sea areas that no country controls and where any ship can sail

How Wide

territorial waters
  • Specialized
6 4.9

Surface Forms

territorial waters singular
territorial water plural

Morphology

territorial + water

The meaning 'area of sea under a country's jurisdiction' is directly and compositionally built from 'territorial' (pertaining to a territory) + 'waters' (sea area), so the phrase's sense is predictable from its parts. This noun phrase structure and the idea of national maritime zones are cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would very likely understand it.

Etymology

The name territorial waters shows its parts: territorial means the land of a country and waters means the sea, so imagine a band of sea next to the coast treated like the country's 'territory'. So the phrase means the area of sea a country 'controls' near its shore.