1
general::
the sea
especially British English the large area of salty water that covers much of the Earth’s surface:
• She lives by the sea. • The sea was very rough.
the ocean
especially American English the large area of salty water that covers much of the Earth’s surface:
• a house by the ocean • The restaurant had a sweeping view of the ocean.
waters
a large area of water – used about an area of water that belongs to a particular country, or when describing what the water is like:
• boats fishing in Canadian waters • British territorial waters • the calm waters of the harbour • dangerous waters • choppy waters (= with a lot of waves )
bay
an area of sea that is partly enclosed by a curve in the land:
• I swam across the bay. • the Bay of Biscay
gulf
a very large area of sea partly enclosed by land:
• the Gulf of Mexico • oil from the Gulf (= the area of water near Iran, Saudi Arabia etc )
tide
the regular rising and falling of the level of the sea:
• Is the tide going out or coming in ? • High tide (= when the sea is at its highest level ) is at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. • low tide (= when the sea is at its lowest level ) • The rocks are visible at low tide.
wave
a line of raised water that moves across the surface of the sea:
• The waves were crashing against the rocks.
Longman-Thesaurus