high seas

high seas pl (plural only)

1. (nautical) Regions of the ocean that are far from shore, especially those regions that do not belong to any country.

   Synonyms: open ocean, open sea

   • 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:

     From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. . . . For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.

2. (slang) Regions of the Internet in which piracy (i.e. copyright infringement) is prevalent.

   I was out on the high seas yesterday and got myself a new mathematics book.

• Usually used in the plural form, although examples with the uncountable form high sea can be found, as in:

• c. 1830, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 16, in The Water Witch:

  "[T]he commander of this vessel must get a passport of Her Majesty's cruiser, ere she again enter the high sea."

• Often used in the phrase on the high seas.