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

The company claims long-standing experience in the Middle East and in Africa, where it has carried out anti-piracy operations, notably in Nigeria and the Indian Ocean.

From Barron's

The strategic waterway connects the Persian Gulf to the wider Indian Ocean.

From The Wall Street Journal

The US has in the past used RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, and the UK overseas territory of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, to carry out strikes in the Middle East region.

From BBC

This comes despite Washington on Tuesday giving its official backing to London's plan to cede sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.

From BBC

The strategic waterway connects the Persian Gulf to the wider Indian Ocean and around a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through it.

From The Wall Street Journal