MEANING
Relating to the shallow sea near a coast, especially the waters over the continental shelf.
Use it for
describing shallow coastal marine habitats; contrasting shelf waters with the open ocean; locating marine organisms near a continental coastDistinguishes shallow coastal waters over the continental shelf from the open ocean beyond it. Writing functions: Shallow coastal ocean zone.
Words that belong together
- the neritic zone
- neritic waters
- neritic plankton
On the page
The study compared neritic waters with the deeper ocean beyond the shelf.
Many larvae remained within the neritic zone throughout the survey.
Word forms
- Base
- neritic
Usage notes
Non-gradable adjective; no ordinary comparative or superlative. Register: technical. Commonness: uncommon outside marine science (dictionary-informed qualitative editorial estimate; not a measured frequency).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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