beam sea

noun

, Nautical.

1. a sea striking the vessel at right angles to its keel.

Word History and Origins

Origin of beam sea¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

From time to time it careened like a blunt-nosed barge in a beam sea.

From Project Gutenberg

Kaa rolled slowly in the water like a steamer in a beam sea.

From Project Gutenberg

Behind us the locomotive’s smoke stack rolled like a steamer’s funnel when a 298 beam sea is running.

From Project Gutenberg

Other machines kept tab on the force and direction of the wind, variations in temperature, barometric pressure and the rolling of a beam sea.

From Time Magazine Archive

It�s also about 4,000 pounds heavier and a couple of knots slower at top end than the Express�like you�ll really care when you�re comfortably hauling that grander in through the transom door in a five-foot beam sea, while the rest of the fleet are trying to keep their lunches down.

From Time Magazine Archive