spindrift
Wind-whipped wave foam
Spindrift is the spray blown from breaking waves, especially during a storm.
Wind catches the crests and whips them into fine mist that streaks across the water's surface: Spindrift stung our faces as we fought to reef the sail.
The word appears almost exclusively in nautical or literary contexts.
Frothy bubbles on waves
Severe sustained wind
- squallBrief, violent windstorm
- gustBrief wind surge
- tempestViolent windstorm or turmoil
- blowMove air forcefully
nor'easter · trade-winds · mistral · sirocco · windswept · windblown · gusting · blustery
seafoam
Frothy bubbles on waves
gale
Severe sustained wind
blow · nor'easter · trade-winds · mistral · sirocco · windswept · windblown · gusting · blustery
sailing
Wind-propelled water travel
bow · stern · offshore · lee · windward · rigging · mariner · watch · passage · crossing
shoreline
Land-water boundary
- headlandCoastal land jutting seaward
- promontoryElevated land jutting waterward
- cliffVertical rock wall
breakwater · jetty · seawall · tideline · beach · cape · bluff
- Ocean Phenomenatsunami, tides, rogue wave, ocean current, swells
- precipitationrain, snow, hail, drizzle, sleet
- wind-poweredwind turbine, windmill, sailboat, kite, sail
- Beaufort scalecalm, light breeze, gentle breeze, moderate breeze, fresh breeze
- ocean surfacewaves, foam, whitecaps, swells, ripples
- sea conditionscalm, choppy, rough, smooth, moderate
spindriftdead calm
Complete absence of wind
calm · stillness · flat water · becalmed · calm seas
spindriftstill water
Water not flowing
deep · ocean depths · the deep · depths · deep water