Meaning & use
sea lane
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A route across the ocean that ships regularly follow, often because it is the safest or fastest way between ports.
Grammar: Often plural: busy sea lanes, but one sea lane is also fine.
Patterns
- a sea lane between places
- ships use a sea lane
- protect the sea lanes
Oil tankers pass through this narrow sea lane every hour.
The navy patrols the sea lanes to keep trade moving.
A storm forced the cargo ship out of the usual sea lane.
Word forms
| plural | sea lanes |
|---|
Common combinations
- a busy sea lane
- The strait is one of the busiest sea lanes in the world.
- protect the sea lanes
- Allied fleets joined forces to protect the sea lanes during the war.
- block a sea lane
- A stranded container ship blocked the sea lane for days.
- vital sea lanes
- Many countries depend on vital sea lanes for their fuel imports.
- an international sea lane
- Fishing boats were warned to stay out of the international sea lane.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shipping lane
- Nearly identical, but it can also mean a formally marked channel in a harbor or strait, while sea lane sounds broader and more strategic.
- sea route
- A looser phrase for any way of traveling by sea, while a sea lane implies a well-used, defined path.
- waterway
- Includes rivers and canals as well as seas, so it is less specific about open ocean.
Word family
Commonly confused: sea lane or airlane?
sea lane vs airlane
An air lane is a route for aircraft, while a sea lane is for ships.
Practice
Which phrase best completes the sentence? The navy patrols the ___ to protect merchant ships.
Choose one answer.
Sea lanes are the ocean routes ships use. Bike lanes and fast lanes belong on roads, so they do not suit merchant ships.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sea lane”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.