cross sea

American  

noun

Oceanography, Nautical.

1. a sea with a choppy surface produced by the intersection of waves from different storms.

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Etymology

Origin of cross sea

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

The day was foggy, and a heavy, cross sea and lumpy waves kept the men miserably wet.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

The plane taxied over a choppy cross sea toward the shadow of the island, while we squinted through the salt spray.

From The Image and the Likeness by Campbell, John Scott

The sum of such conflicting currents makes up a "cross sea," where everything is possible, from the favoring tide that leads to safety, to the swell and storm of utter shipwreck.

From The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. II (of II) by Lever, Charles James

The cross sea also rendered her almost unmanageable, so that, ere long, she was driven to leeward of the outer lightship that marks the north end of the Goodwins.

From The Lifeboat by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)

The wind freshened in the afternoon, and a cross sea rose which obliged us to reef the sails, and made the boat very wet.

From A Voyage to Terra Australis — Volume 2 by Flinders, Matthew