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

Example Sentences

So far, the Pacific Ocean routes that serve much of the U.S. market remain largely unaffected, but shipping companies are watching the situation nervously.

From The Wall Street Journal

In 2015 a pipeline there ruptured and released “an estimated 2,934 barrels of crude oil on land and beaches, and into the Pacific Ocean,” according to a government report.

From Barron's

In 2015 a pipeline there ruptured and released “an estimated 2,934 barrels of crude oil on land and beaches, and into the Pacific Ocean,” according to a government report.

From Barron's

One of the strongest influences on these shifting patterns is the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, a natural warming and cooling cycle in the Pacific Ocean that affects rainfall around the world.

From Science Daily

La Nina is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that cools surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.

From Barron's