Meaning & use
go to sea
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Meanings
phraseidiom
To begin working on a ship as a sailor.
Grammar: Used without an object; the phrase itself contains 'to'.
Patterns
- go to sea as something
- go to sea at an age
He went to sea at eighteen and spent ten years on cargo ships.
My grandfather went to sea as a cook, not a sailor.
After the war, many young men went to sea to find work.
phraseidiom
To travel out onto the ocean, especially in a boat.
Grammar: Often used for the moment a boat leaves land and enters open water.
Patterns
- go to sea in something
- go to sea for a time
The little boat went to sea despite the rough weather.
They went to sea for three days to test the new engine.
Common combinations
- go to sea as a sailor
- She went to sea as a sailor on a fishing boat.
- go to sea at sixteen
- In those days, boys often went to sea at sixteen.
- go to sea for the first time
- He went to sea for the first time last summer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- become a sailor
- This explains the job meaning more directly, but it is not a fixed phrase like 'go to sea'.
Word family
- seafaring adjective
- Describing work or travel on the sea.
Commonly confused: go to sea or go to the sea?
go to sea vs go to the sea
'Go to the sea' means to visit the coast; 'go to sea' means to work or travel on the ocean.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'go to sea' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Go to sea' means to work or travel on the ocean, as in the second option. The other options describe visiting the coast, which needs 'go to the sea' or 'go to the beach'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “go to sea”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.