high sea

noun

The sea when it is very rough due to strong winds and storms, such that the sea encroaches much further inland than is normal, often causing damage.

“The ship eventually broke in half in high sea and winds.”

OriginMiddle English hey see ← Old English hēahsǣ →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounhigh sea (plural high seas)

plural high seas

  1. The sea when it is very rough due to strong winds and storms, such that the sea encroaches much further inland than is normal, often causing damage.

    The ship eventually broke in half in high sea and winds.

nounhigh sea (uncountable)
  1. alternativeuncountableAlternative form of high seas (“open ocean”).

Origin

  1. Old Englishhēahsǣ“the high sea, the deep”
  2. Middle Englishhey see
  3. Englishhigh sea

From Middle English hey see, hey se, from Old English hēahsǣ (“the high sea, the deep”), equivalent to high + sea.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

high sea. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/high%20sea

MLA

“high sea.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/high%20sea. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “high sea,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/high%20sea.

Source: high sea on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.