sea change
A profound transformation; a metamorphosis.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The new manager brought a sea change to the office.”
“Moving to the countryside brings a sea change to your daily life.”
“After years of quiet resistance, the election brought a sea change in how the country saw itself.”
“The move from traditional books to digital tablets caused a sea change in how students study for their final exams.”
“When the company started prioritizing mental health, we noticed a sea change in the overall happiness of the staff.”
“The invention of the internet marked a sea change in human communication, dissolving borders between minds as oceans once had between lands.”
From Act I, scene ii, of The Tempest (1610–1611) by the English playwright William Shakespeare (1564–1616), spelling modernized: “Full fathom five thy father lies, / Of his bones are coral made: / Those are pearls that were his eyes, / Nothing of him that doth fade, / But doth suffer a sea-change / Into something rich and strange”. The passage refers to how a drowned man’s body lying on the sea bed had been transformed by the sea.
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and change
And some quantity, but less than the increment to the next round number.
- 02
change collars
To change or shift one's career path.
- 03
change hands
To become the property of someone else; to be bought or sold.
- 04
change horses in midstream
To change one's plan or approach when an effort is already underway or at another inopportune time.
- 05
change of clothes
A set of clothes in addition to those already worn.
- 06
change of heart
A change of one's opinion, belief or decision.
- 07
change of life
Menopause.
- 08
change of pace
A shift from one activity to another
Last updated August 10, 2026