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).

---

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)

---

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.

---

Etymology

Origin of Pacific Ocean

First recorded in 1560–70

Example Sentences

Once that stage is complete, parachutes will slow the spacecraft before it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

The booster involved has already flown 13 missions, and is expected to land on a ship in the Pacific Ocean.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

Changes in sea surface temperatures, particularly in the Pacific Ocean, limit how widely drought conditions spread across continents.

From Science Daily • Mar. 5, 2026

They will end the mission with a splash down in the Pacific Ocean.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

Mom said we should all live near the Pacific Ocean at least once in our lives, so we kept going all the way to San Francisco.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls