Indian Ocean

American  

[in-dee-uhn oh-shuhn] / ˈɪn di ən ˈoʊ ʃən /

noun

1. an ocean south of Asia, east of Africa, and west of Australia, with its deepest section in the Java Trench. 27,243,268 square miles (70,560,000 square kilometers).

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Indian Ocean British  

noun

1. an ocean bordered by Africa in the west, Asia in the north, and Australia in the east and merging with the Antarctic Ocean in the south. Average depth: 3900 m (13 000 ft). Greatest depth (off the Sunda Islands): 7450 m (24 442 ft). In December 2004 a major undersea earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami which affected large areas of the ocean as far away as east Africa, and killed an estimated 226 435 people. Area: about 73 556 000 sq km (28 400 000 sq miles)

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Indian Ocean Cultural  

1. Third-largest ocean (after the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean), extending from southern Asia to Antarctica and from eastern Africa to southeastern Australia.

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Etymology

Origin of Indian Ocean

First recorded in 1580–90

Example Sentences

But the armed group has previously attacked shipping in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which ships use to access the Red Sea and, ultimately, the Suez Canal from the Indian Ocean.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

Storage sites just across the border in Mozambique, which has ports on the Indian Ocean, were reportedly bursting with Zimbabwean minerals, he said.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

The waterway connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026

The police, ambulance, fire department, cyclone-warning system and, of course, Zoël Manguillier, the guy to call when the groom drops his wedding ring in the Indian Ocean.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

I learn from Wikipedia that the Republic of Maldives is an archipelagic state —meaning a country composed of different islands—in the Indian Ocean.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller