Meanings
- pluralplural onlygeographyA country's inland lakes and waterways as well as the portion of its coastal oceans, seas, or other adjoining bodies of water considered to fall within the political boundaries and legal jurisdiction of that country.
You are not merely within territorial waters, but you have invaded a national port.
1909, Bram Stoker, The Lady of the Shroud, Book 73 more examples
Her Majesty's Government do not interpret these expressions in any sense derogatory to the sovereign authority of Great Britain in the territorial waters of Newfoundland.
1880 December 11, “The Fortune Bay Outrage: Lord Granville's Letter to Minister Lowell”, in New York Times, retrieved 22 Jun 2012"Where is le bon Général Kim's 'pirate' ship destined to lie in wait?" "In Prata Channel off Montanha Island," returned the Intelligence Officer. "From there Kim and the pirate captain believe we should be able to proceed in time to any part of Macao's territorial waters.
1957, Van Wyck Mason, “Gem of the Orient Earth”, in The Gracious Lily Affair (Fiction), Doubleday & Company, Inc., →LCCN, →OCLC, page 256According to the South Korean joint chiefs of staff, a North Korean gunboat ventured about a mile into what Seoul claims is its territorial waters.
2009 November 10, Bill Powell, “Before Obama's Visit, a New Clash Between Koreas”, in Time
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe waters surrounding a nation and its territories over which that nation exercises sovereign jurisdiction
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 領水 /领水
- 領水 /领水 (lǐngshuǐ)belt of coastal waters
Danish territorialfarvand, søterritorium
- territorialfarvandbelt of coastal waters
- søterritoriumbelt of coastal waters
Dutch territoriale wateren
- territoriale waterenbelt of coastal waters
Finnish aluevedet
- aluevedetbelt of coastal waters
French mer territoriale, eaux territoriales
- mer territorialebelt of coastal waters
- eaux territorialesbelt of coastal waters
German Küstenmeer
- Küstenmeerbelt of coastal waters
Greek αιγιαλίτιδα ζώνη, χωρικά ύδατα
- αιγιαλίτιδα ζώνη (aigialítida zóni)belt of coastal waters
- χωρικά ύδατα (choriká ýdata)belt of coastal waters
Icelandic landhelgi
- landhelgibelt of coastal waters
Indonesian perairan wilayah
- perairan wilayahbelt of coastal waters
Italian acque territoriali, mare territoriale
- acque territorialibelt of coastal waters
- mare territorialebelt of coastal waters
Japanese 領海
- 領海 (ryōkai)belt of coastal waters
Korean 영해
- 영해 (yeonghae)belt of coastal waters
Malay perairan wilayah
- perairan wilayahbelt of coastal waters
Norwegian Bokmål territorialfarvann, sjøterritorium
- territorialfarvannbelt of coastal waters
- sjøterritoriumbelt of coastal waters
Persian آبهای سرزمینی
- آبهای سرزمینی (âb-hâ-ye sarzamini)belt of coastal waters
Polish wody terytorialne, morze terytorialne
- wody terytorialnebelt of coastal waters
- morze terytorialnebelt of coastal waters
- wody przybrzeżnebelt of coastal waters
Romanian ape teritoriale
- ape teritorialebelt of coastal waters
Russian территориа́льные во́ды
- территориа́льные во́ды (territoriálʹnyje vódy)belt of coastal waters
Spanish mar territorial
- mar territorialbelt of coastal waters
Swedish territorialvatten, territorialhav
- territorialvattenbelt of coastal waters
- territorialhavbelt of coastal waters
Tagalog lupaining dagatan
- lupaining dagatanbelt of coastal waters
Thai น่านน้ำ
- น่านน้ำ (nâan-náam)belt of coastal waters
Vietnamese lãnh hải, vùng biển
- lãnh hảibelt of coastal waters
- vùng biểnbelt of coastal waters
- hải phậnbelt of coastal waters
Cite this entry
territorial waters. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/territorial%20waters
“territorial waters.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/territorial%20waters. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “territorial waters,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/territorial%20waters.
Source: territorial waters on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.