ENGLISH
REFERENCE

sea change

idiom
Meaning

A profound transformation; a metamorphosis.


Origin

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.

Examples
SIMPLE

The new manager brought a sea change to the office.

CONTEXTUAL

After years of quiet resistance, the election brought a sea change in how the country saw itself.

COMPLEX

The invention of the internet marked a sea change in human communication, dissolving borders between minds as oceans once had between lands.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    and change

    And some quantity, but less than the increment to the next round number.

  2. 02

    change collars

    To change or shift one's career path.

  3. 03

    change hands

    To become the property of someone else; to be bought or sold.

  4. 04

    change horses in midstream

    To change one's plan or approach when an effort is already underway or at another inopportune time.

  5. 05

    change of clothes

    A set of clothes in addition to those already worn.

  6. 06

    change of heart

    A change of one's opinion, belief or decision.

  7. 07

    change of life

    Menopause.

  8. 08

    change of pace

    A shift from one activity to another

© 2026 English Reference