Maritime means relating to the sea, especially in connection with shipping, sailing, and naval matters. When you hear about maritime trade, it refers to goods transported by ships across oceans. A maritime museum displays old ships, navigation tools, and artifacts from seafaring history.

Maritime law governs what happens on the oceans: who owns which waters, how ships should behave, and what to do when vessels from different countries meet at sea. Maritime provinces or regions, like Canada's Maritime Provinces, border the ocean and depend heavily on fishing, shipping, and naval industries.

You might also hear about a maritime climate, which describes the weather patterns in coastal areas: typically milder winters and cooler summers than places far inland, because the ocean moderates temperature changes. A maritime nation like ancient Greece or modern Japan builds much of its economy and culture around the sea. When historians discuss maritime exploration, they're talking about the great age of sailing ships, when explorers like Magellan and Cook charted unknown waters and connected distant continents.