Atlantic Ocean

American  

[at-lan-tik oh-shuhn] / ætˈlæn tɪk ˈoʊ ʃən /

Often the Atlantic

noun

1. an ocean bounded by North America and South America in the Western Hemisphere and by Europe and Africa in the Eastern Hemisphere, with its deepest section in the Puerto Rico Trench: divided by the equator into the North Atlantic Ocean and the South Atlantic Ocean. 32,870,000 square miles (85,133,000 square kilometers).

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Atlantic Ocean British  

noun

1. the world's second largest ocean, bounded in the north by the Arctic, in the south by the Antarctic, in the west by North and South America, and in the east by Europe and Africa. Greatest depth: 9220 m (30 246 ft). Area: about 81 585 000 sq km (31 500 000 sq miles)

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Atlantic Ocean Cultural  

1. Second-largest ocean in the world, separating North America and South America on the west from Europe and Africa on the east.

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Etymology

Origin of Atlantic Ocean

First recorded in 1600–10

Example Sentences

A flotilla of vessels were following the weakened animal at a distance, hoping to help guide it into the North Sea and toward the Atlantic Ocean, its natural habitat.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

The scientists examined genetic material collected from volcanic lakes in Iceland and from deep-sea hydrothermal vents located more than two kilometers beneath the North Atlantic Ocean.

From Science Daily • Mar. 14, 2026

Earlier this year, it was moved back across the Atlantic Ocean to support operations against Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

In contrast, neighbouring Portugal authorised the United States to "conditionally" use an airbase on the Azores archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean for the Iran strikes, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro told parliament on Wednesday.

From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026

For he knew that the garbage would be towed twenty miles out and dumped into the Atlantic Ocean.

From "Stuart Little" by E.B. White