ocean

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noun, often attributive \ ˈō-shən \

Definition of ocean

1 a :the whole body of salt water that covers nearly three fourths of the surface of the earth

b :any of the large bodies of water (such as the Atlantic Ocean) into which the great ocean is divided

2 :a very large or unlimited space or quantity

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Examples of ocean in a Sentence

We've sailed across hundreds of miles of ocean.
the Pacific and Indian oceans

Recent Examples of ocean from the Web

Bloomberg QuickTake explains the looming crisis of overfishing our oceans.

— Bloomberg.com, "We're Running Out of Fish," 30 Aug. 2017
Global warming raises sea levels through a one-two combination: The higher temperatures melt glaciers, adding more water to the oceans, while the extra heat expands that water.

— dino grandoni, Washington Post, "The Energy 202: Harvey sparks new debate over hurricanes and climate change," 29 Aug. 2017
Researchers first detected the AMO in ocean temperature measurements spanning the past 150 years.

— julia rosen, Science | AAAS, "Human influence may prolong ocean cycle that gave birth to Harvey," 29 Aug. 2017
As mentioned above, hurricanes feed and grow on warm ocean surface waters.

— robinson meyer, The Atlantic, "Did Climate Change Intensify Hurricane Harvey?," 27 Aug. 2017
The aquarium would have displays on the Amazon rain forest, a tropical reef and ocean ecosystems.

— sheldon s. shafer, The Courier-Journal, "Scrapped plans for Louisville aquarium resurface in Southern Indiana county," 26 Aug. 2017
Hm, OK, Areola has now moved from behind said rock and is walking through the ocean... ...which can only mean that his mermaid tail has turned into real human legs.

— madison feller, Cosmopolitan, "Sha La La La La La Float Along and Listen to This Shirtless Violinist Recreate The Little Mermaid," 22 Aug. 2017
A dead spacecraft carrying stowaway microbes could contaminate icy Enceladus, a moon Cassini showed us has a salty ocean and the potential for life.

— ernie mastroianni, Discover Magazine, "Cassini’s Closing Act," 21 Aug. 2017
Think back to the time when Kim lost her diamond earring in the ocean, or when Kylie thought the pig Mama Kris got her was a chicken.

— christopher rosa, Glamour, "These Sisters Are Basically Kylie and Kim Impersonators—and You Won't Able to Look Away," 8 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ocean.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ocean

Middle English occean, from Anglo-French, from Latin oceanus, from Greek Ōkeanos, a river thought of as encircling the earth, ocean

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

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ocean Synonyms

Synonyms

blue, brine, deep, Neptune, sea, seven seas

Related Words

blue water, high seas, main, waters; basin; Davy Jones's locker, depths

Other Oceanography Terms

littoral, sound

OCEAN Defined for English Language Learners

ocean

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noun

Definition of ocean for English Language Learners

: the salt water that covers much of the Earth's surface
: one of the five large areas of salt water that cover much of the Earth's surface
: a very large number or amount of something