marine

[ muh-reen ]
See synonyms for marine on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of or relating to the sea; existing in or produced by the sea: marine vegetation.

  2. pertaining to navigation or shipping; nautical; naval; maritime.

  1. serving on shipboard, as soldiers.

  2. of or belonging to the marines.

  3. adapted for use at sea: a marine barometer.

noun
  1. a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.

  2. one of a class of naval troops serving both on shipboard and on land.

  1. seagoing ships collectively, especially with reference to nationality or class; shipping in general.

  2. a picture with a marine subject; seascape.

  3. naval affairs, or the department of a government, as in France, having to do with such affairs.

Idioms about marine

  1. dead marine, Australian Slang. an empty bottle of beer or spirits.

  2. tell it / that to the marines! I don't believe your story; I refuse to be fooled.

Origin of marine

1
1325–75; Middle English maryne<Middle French marin (feminine marine) <Latin marīnus of the sea, derivative of mare sea; see -ine1

Other words from marine

  • in·ter·ma·rine, adjective
  • non·ma·rine, adjective, noun
  • sem·i·ma·rine, adjective, noun
  • su·per·ma·rine, adjective
  • un·ma·rine, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for marine

marine

/ (məˈriːn) /


adjective(usually prenominal)
  1. of, found in, or relating to the sea

  2. of or relating to shipping, navigation, etc

  1. of or relating to a body of seagoing troops: marine corps

  2. of or relating to a government department concerned with maritime affairs

  3. used or adapted for use at sea: a marine camera

noun
  1. shipping and navigation in general: the merchant marine

  2. (capital when part of a name) a member of a marine corps or similar body

  1. a picture of a ship, seascape, etc

  2. tell it to the marines informal an expression of disbelief

Origin of marine

1
C15: from Old French marin, from Latin marīnus, from mare sea

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for marine

marine

[ mə-rēn ]


  1. Relating to the sea.

  2. Relating to a system of open-ocean and unprotected coastal habitats, characterized by exposure to wave action, tidal fluctuation, and ocean currents and by the absence of trees, shrubs, or emergent vegetation. Water in the marine system is at or near the full salinity of seawater. Compare lacustrine palustrine riverine.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.