seabed
/ˈsē-ˌbed/ (ame, mw)
seabed — noun
1. the layer of rock, sand, or mud that forms the bottom of an ocean or sea
the layer of rock, sand, or mud that forms the bottom of an ocean or sea
The research vessel dropped a camera to film the seabed three kilometres below.
collocation: drop + to the seabed
Adina studied photographs of the seabed taken near a deep-ocean volcano.
collocation: photographs of the seabed
Cables that carry internet signals lie on the seabed across entire oceans.
The old shipwreck had been sitting on the seabed for more than two centuries.
Alessia’s team uses sonar to map the seabed around the coast of Norway.
- seafloor
the exact same meaning; preferred in scientific and technical writing
- ocean floor
equally common in general English; slightly less technical than seafloor
- ocean bottom
more general and informal; can also refer to the bottom of a large lake
文法句型
the seabed
on the seabed
用法筆記
Seabed is almost always used with the definite article the. In everyday conversation, ocean floor or sea floor are more common alternatives. This word appears frequently in news reports about underwater cables, deep-sea mining, and marine archaeology.
常見錯誤
❗ ‘The divers explored the seabed of Lake Geneva.’ ✅ ‘The divers explored the bottom of Lake Geneva.’ — Seabed refers only to the floor of an ocean or sea, not a lake.
❗ ‘The children played on the seabed at the beach.’ ✅ ‘The children played on the beach.’ — Seabed describes the deep ocean floor, not the sandy shore beside the water.