Pacific Ocean

American  

[puh-sif-ik oh-shuhn] / pəˈsɪf ɪk ˈoʊ ʃən /

Often the Pacific

noun

1. the largest of the world’s five principal oceans, bordered by the American continents, Asia, and Australia, with its deepest section in the Mariana Trench: divided by the equator into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean. 62,455,900 square miles (161,760,000 square kilometers).

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Pacific Ocean British  

noun

1. the world's largest and deepest ocean, lying between Asia and Australia and North and South America: almost landlocked in the north, linked with the Arctic Ocean only by the Bering Strait, and extending to Antarctica in the south; has exceptionally deep trenches, and a large number of volcanic and coral islands. Area: about 165 760 000 sq km (64 000 000 sq miles). Average depth: 4215 m (14 050 ft). Greatest depth: Challenger Deep (in the Marianas Trench), 11 033 m (37 073 ft). Greatest width: (between Panama and Mindanao, Philippines) 17 066 km (10 600 miles)

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Pacific Ocean Cultural  

1. The largest ocean in the world, separating Asia and Australia on the west from North America and South America on the east.

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Etymology

Origin of Pacific Ocean

First recorded in 1560–70

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Pacific Ocean

Panama has declared a nationwide emergency over the exceptionally strong El Nino, a warming phenomenon developing over the Pacific Ocean that is affecting worldwide weather patterns.

From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026

For example, El Niño can temporarily increase global temperatures by releasing heat from the tropical Pacific Ocean into the atmosphere.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

El Niño is a climate pattern that occurs when temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean — essentially west of Peru — become warmer than normal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

The meteorological phenomenon occurs when waters in the Pacific Ocean become unusually warm, disrupting weather patterns around the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

My mom and I had just moved all the way from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, over here in Connecticut.

From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea

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