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freedom of the seas

freedom of the seas noun: the doctrine, widely recognized in international law, that, outside of narrow territorial limits, the oceans are open to unhindered navigation by vessels of all countries.

Noun

freedom of the seas

  1. The doctrine, widely recognized in international law, that, outside of narrow territorial limits, the oceans are open to unhindered navigation by vessels of all countries.
    • [T]he time of hostile rivalry between the two countries had passed away. There now only remained emulation in doing everything that could advance the cause of civilization and liberty. "The freedom of the seas, pacific contests in labor, and the beneficent conquests of commerce" were meant by the...1865 September 3, “The Naval Fetes at Cherbourg”, in New York Times, retrieved 22 Jun 2014
    • Blenkiron said that Germany was right in wanting the freedom of the seas, and that America would back her up, and that the British Navy was a bigger menace to the peace of the world than the Kaiser's army.1916, John Buchan, chapter 3, in Greenmantle

Examples of freedom of the seas in a sentence

  • "The freedom of the seas, pacific contests in labor, and the beneficent conquests of commerce" were meant by the union of the flags of England and France.1865 September 3, “The Naval Fetes at Cherbourg”, in New York Times, retrieved 22 Jun 2014:
  • In the 17th century Hugo Grotius developed the doctrine of the "freedom of the seas", in the face of Portuguese and Spanish claims to sovereignty over vast areas of ocean.2011 June 21, Jason Hall-Spencer, “A steward for our oceans”, in The Guardian, UK, retrieved 22 Jun 2014:

Questions about freedom of the seas

What does freedom of the seas mean?
Freedom of the seas means the doctrine, widely recognized in international law, that, outside of narrow territorial limits, the oceans are open to unhindered navigation by vessels of all countries.
How do you use freedom of the seas in a sentence?
"The freedom of the seas, pacific contests in labor, and the beneficent conquests of commerce" were meant by the union of the flags of England and France.
What part of speech is freedom of the seas?
Freedom of the seas is a noun.

Words near freedom of the seas in the dictionary

  1. freedom of panorama
  2. freedom of religion
  3. freedom of speech
  4. freedom of the city
  5. freedom of the press
  6. freedom of the seas
  7. freedom of thought
  8. freedom of trade
  9. freedom ride
  10. freedom rider
  11. freedom riders

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: freedom of the seas (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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