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

See Examples For:

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean has increasingly behaved differently from what would normally be expected based on conditions in the Pacific, a change that researchers have linked to climate warming.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

The December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean disaster and the March 11, 2011, tsunami in Japan account for much of that devastating toll.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

The Gulf of Oman lies on the Indian Ocean side of the narrow Hormuz strait, a vital energy conduit that normally carries around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

A SpaceX rocket has made an unexpected appearance off Christmas Island after touching down in the Indian Ocean following a test flight from Texas on 24 July.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

The Cape seemed next door to the East Indies—till a man had sailed the Indian Ocean.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham