oasis

[ oh-ey-sis ]

noun

, plural o·a·ses [oh-, ey, -seez].

1. a small fertile or green area in a desert region, usually having a spring or well.
2. something serving as a refuge, relief, or pleasant change from what is usual, annoying, difficult, etc.:

   The library was an oasis of calm in the hectic city.

   Synonyms: shelter, retreat, harbor, haven

Oasis

¹

/ əʊˈeɪsɪs /

noun

1. a block of light porous material, used as a base for flower arrangements

oasis

²

/ əʊˈeɪsɪs /

noun

1. a fertile patch in a desert occurring where the water table approaches or reaches the ground surface
2. a place of peace, safety, or happiness in the midst of trouble or difficulty

oasis

/ ō-ā′sĭs /

, Plural oases ō-ā′sēz

1. A small area in a desert that has a supply of water and is able to support vegetation. An oasis forms when groundwater lies close enough to the surface to form a spring or to be reached by wells.

Other Words From

• o·a·sit·ic [oh-, uh, -, sit, -ik], o·asal o·a·se·an [oh-, ey, -see-, uh, n], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of oasis¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin, from Greek óasis, from Egyptian wḥʾt “oasis region”

Word History and Origins

Origin of oasis¹

C17: via Latin from Greek, probably of Egyptian origin

Example Sentences

Ribbon Falls, a sacred site of the Zuni people, is an incredible green oasis in the sea of red.

From Outside Online

Even though people aren’t on the go, the home used to be an oasis.

From Digiday

All these inventions allowed small oases of civilization to be wrested from a natural wilderness that seemed endless.

From Singularity Hub 

They’re basically like oases — these islands in the middle of a desert of sand.

From Science News For Students

Most galling of all, Gow said, is the prospect that his ranch, his oasis, could suddenly become a thruway for construction and maintenance, an avenue for aerial surveillance and regular pesticide spraying that he would have no control over.

From ProPublica

You might be surprised to hear that hidden in Tampa, Florida is a food oasis of the Cuban persuasion.

From The Daily Beast

The pop-punk of Green Day, the Britpop of Oasis, the alternative arena rock of Weezer.

From The Daily Beast

And, as it turns out, a necessary zen oasis from the deafening screams of tweenage girls as this Austin Mahone character performs.

From The Daily Beast

Even so, in the turbulent Middle East of the Arab Spring Lebanon has been an oasis of calm and relative affluence.

From The Daily Beast

They rushed out in bathrobes and slippers, their blissful oasis near a suburban mall suddenly transformed into a horror scene.

From The Daily Beast

A trick like this—a generosity so distinct as this—is a real oasis in the ecclesiastical desert.

From Project Gutenberg

We now enter the Palais Royal, that strange white and green oasis into which it is so simple never to stray.

From Project Gutenberg

Now I was filled with the desire to lie here in this “oasis” and live at ease and sniff the clean fragrance of mountain plants.

From Project Gutenberg

He is the one refreshing oasis in the desert wilderness of the Classical school.

From Project Gutenberg

It would be an oasis in this desert—that Express car; but lo!

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• haven
• sanctuary

What Is The Plural Of Oasis?

Plural word for oasis

The plural form of oasis is oases, pronounced [ oh-ey-seez ]. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -is are also formed in this way, including hypothesis/hypotheses, crisis/crises, and axis/axes. A similar change is made when pluralizing appendix as appendices. 

Irregular plurals that are formed like oases derive directly from their original pluralization in Latin and Greek.