The sea has captivated humankind since the beginning of time. Sailors, explorers, writers, and artists have all been inspired by the mystery and majesty of the oceans. Riddles about the sea allow us to tap into our curiosity about this vast watery realm. Here are 57 riddles about the sea to challenge your wits!
General riddles about the sea
Riddle 1
What has no beginning, end, or middle?
Answer: A doughnut (or a ring).
Riddle 2
You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside. What did you eat?
Answer: An ear of corn.
Riddle 3
What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Answer: Your name.
Riddle 4
I have cities, but no houses. I have oceans, but no water. What am I?
Answer: A map.
Riddle 5
What can fill a room but takes up no space?
Answer: Light.
Riddle 6
What has a head and a tail but no body?
Answer: A coin.
Riddle 7
What goes up but never comes down?
Answer: Your age.
Riddle 8
What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?
Answer: A promise.
Riddle 9
What has to be broken before you can use it?
Answer: An egg.
Riddle 10
I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
Answer: A candle.
Riddles about waves and tides
Riddle 11
What goes up but never comes down?
Answer: The tide.
Riddle 12
I advance and retreat, over and over again. I approach with great power, then I reverse course. What am I?
Answer: Waves.
Riddle 13
I appear twice a day, once at night and once during the day. You can race me but you’ll never win. What am I?
Answer: The tide.
Riddle 14
I am strong and powerful, crashing and smashing. Retreating, then charging once more. Relentless and endless, I shape the shore. What am I?
Answer: Waves.
Riddle 15
I rise and fall, ebb and flow. You can ride on me, back and forth I go. What am I?
Answer: Tides or waves.
Riddle 16
Sometimes you can see through me, other times I swell high. I can move you smoothly, or rock you side to side. What am I?
Answer: Water/waves.
Riddle 17
I am up and down, all around. You may walk on me when I’m down. What am I?
Answer: The tide.
Riddles about the beach
Riddle 18
When you need it, you throw it away. But when you’re done with it, you bring it back. What is it?
Answer: An anchor.
Riddle 19
What has Forests without trees, roads without cars, and cities without houses?
Answer: A map.
Riddle 20
I’m often underfoot, but never a boot. I can roll but never a wheel. What am I?
Answer: Sand.
Riddle 21
When you go in, you get all wet. When you come out, you’re all dry. What is it?
Answer: The ocean or sea.
Riddle 22
I have a mouth but cannot chew. I move but have no legs. What am I?
Answer: A river.
Riddle 23
I go up when the rain comes down. What am I?
Answer: An umbrella.
Riddle 24
People make me, save me, change me, raise me. What am I?
Answer: Money/cash.
Riddle 25
What building has the most stories?
Answer: The library.
Riddles about sea creatures
Riddle 26
I live in water but I do not breathe air. I have a hard shell and pincers to grab. What am I?
Answer: A crab.
Riddle 27
I have eight arms and suckers too, I swim underwater, how about you? What am I?
Answer: An octopus.
Riddle 28
I’m sharp and pointy, as you can see. Stay clear of me, when I’m in the sea. What am I?
Answer: A sea urchin.
Riddle 29
I’m a fish covered in sharp spikes too. My horn can give a nasty poke to you. What fish am I?
Answer: A blowfish.
Riddle 30
I live in the sea, not a lake. I have tentacles and a shell I can make. What am I?
Answer: A squid.
Riddle 31
People eat me in chowder, though I’m funny shaped – not round. I can squirt out ink when danger’s around. What am I?
Answer: A squid.
Riddle 32
I’m a fish with a fin like a fan. Catch me if you can! What am I?
Answer: A blowfish.
Riddle 33
I live in the sea and have five arms. I can regenerate when I come to harm. What am I?
Answer: A starfish.
Riddle 34
People think I’m lazy, but I’m a busy fellow. I move very slowly underwater – I’m a _______.
Answer: A sea slug or sea snail.
Riddle 35
I have a hard shell that protects my back. People enjoy eating me with some lemon or cocktail sauce for a snack. What am I?
Answer: A shrimp or prawn.
Riddles about boats and ships
Riddle 36
I have sails but am not a boat, rudders but not for a plane. You can tie me down but I never complain. What am I?
Answer: A windmill.
Riddle 37
What kind of waves are square?
Answer: Microwaves.
Riddle 38
What nut has no shell?
Answer: A doughnut.
Riddle 39
What has thirteen hearts but no other organs?
Answer: A deck of cards.
Riddle 40
What has one eye but can’t see?
Answer: A needle.
Riddle 41
What runs all around a backyard, yet never moves?
Answer: A fence.
Riddle 42
What can fill up an entire room without taking up space?
Answer: Light.
Riddle 43
What belongs to you but is used more by others?
Answer: Your name.
Riddle 44
I have cities and sights, but no people and satellites. What am I?
Answer: A map.
Riddle 45
What has 88 keys but can’t open a single door?
Answer: A piano.
Riddles about the weather and sky over the sea
Riddle 46
What falls down but never breaks?
Answer: Rain.
Riddle 47
I’m up in the sky, white and high. You need me for life, though too much makes you die. What am I?
Answer: A cloud.
Riddle 48
I’m wet when drying and dry when wetting. What am I?
Answer: A towel.
Riddle 49
What can you catch but not throw?
Answer: A cold.
Riddle 50
What loses its head in the morning and gets it back at night?
Answer: A pillow.
Riddle 51
What comes down but never goes up?
Answer: Rain.
Riddle 52
What goes through towns and over hills but never moves?
Answer: Roads.
Riddle 53
What month of the year has 28 days?
Answer: All of them.
Riddle 54
What’s full of holes but can still hold water?
Answer: A sponge.
Riddles about underwater discoveries
Riddle 55
I have capes but no heads, bays but no beds. Cities stand on me although I have no land. What am I?
Answer: The continental shelf.
Riddle 56
I’m a garden under the sea, with coral, plants, and fish swimming free. Visited by divers, a mystery I be. What am I?
Answer: A coral reef.
Riddle 57
Thousands of me litter the bottom of the ocean floor. Some call me the tears of sorrow, and I’m found off shipwrecks galore. What am I?
Answer: A pearl.
Conclusion
Riddles allow us to look at the ocean and its mysteries in new and puzzling ways. Whether it’s waves crashing on the shore, fish and creatures lurking beneath the surface, or ships sailing the high seas, the sea provides endless inspiration for riddles. How many did you guess correctly? The next time you’re at the beach or on a boat, see if you can think up some new riddles about the wonders of the deep blue sea.
