oceanic

adjective

oce·​an·​ic ˌō-shē-ˈa-nik 

1

a

: of or relating to the ocean

b

: occurring in or frequenting the ocean and especially the open sea as distinguished from littoral or neritic waters

2

: vast, great

3

Oceanic linguistics : relating to, belonging to, or characterizing a subfamily of the Austronesian family of languages that is spoken in Polynesia and most of the islands of Melanesia and Micronesia

Synonyms of oceanic

• marine
• maritime

Examples of oceanic in a Sentence

the theory that ancient mariners took advantage of oceanic currents to roam the seas on primitive rafts

during his solo crossing of the Atlantic he managed to avoid the fierce oceanic storms that rage in those tropical latitudes

Recent Examples on the Web

Patterns like this that hold in place for a week or more are exceptional at squeezing out oceanic moisture in the form of atmospheric rivers – strings of the jet stream that become saturated with relentless rain. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026

Oceanic temperatures are continuing to rise in the part of the Pacific Ocean responsible for El Niño, and federal scientists say there’s an 83% chance this El Niño will be the strongest in the modern record, which dates to 1950. — Sean Greene, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026

This fishery was made possible by the predictable migration patterns of Atlantic bluefin and coastal access to tunas – no dangerous oceanic voyages necessary. — Torben Rick, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026

El Niño is like dropping a rock in a pond, says Daniel Vimont, professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. — Lauren Sommer, NPR, 5 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin Ōceanicus, from Ōceanus "the sea flowing around the land mass of the known world, ocean" + -icus -ic entry 1

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing oceanic

• inter-oceanic
• oceanic whitetip
• oceanic white-tipped shark
• oceanic whitetip shark

Rhymes for oceanic

• botanic
• brahmanic
• britannic
• galvanic
• germanic
• hispanic
• koranic
• mechanic
• organic
• puranic
• quranic
• romanic