Mediterranean Sea

American  

noun

1. a sea surrounded by Africa, Europe, and Asia. 2,400 miles (3,865 kilometers) long; 1,145,000 square miles (2,965,550 square kilometers); greatest known depth 14,436 feet (4,400 meters).

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Mediterranean Sea British  

noun

1. Ancient name: Mare Internum.  a large inland sea between S Europe, N Africa, and SW Asia: linked with the Atlantic by the Strait of Gibraltar, with the Red Sea by the Suez Canal, and with the Black Sea by the Dardanelles, Sea of Marmara, and Bosporus; many ancient civilizations developed around its shores. Greatest depth: 4770 m (15 900 ft). Length: (west to east) over 3700 km (2300 miles). Greatest width: about 1370 km (850 miles). Area: (excluding the Black Sea) 2 512 300 sq km (970 000 sq miles)

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Mediterranean Sea Cultural  

1. Sea surrounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa.

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Etymology

Origin of Mediterranean Sea

First recorded in 1550–60

Example Sentences

The Wilshire Boulevard museum’s inaugural exhibition will organize artwork by the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea instead of by medium or period.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

“Israel has several natural gas fields offshore the Mediterranean Sea, making it one of the key regional gas suppliers,” she says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026

"No other stretch of water is fished like the Mediterranean Sea," he said, speaking to the BBC News science team while working on a research vessel off the coast of Sicily in late 2025.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025

Because a hotter atmosphere holds more water that evaporates from a rapidly warming Mediterranean Sea, climate change increases the risk and intensity of flooding from extreme rainfall in the region.

From Barron's • Oct. 9, 2025

He is falsely accused of treason and sentenced to the dreaded Château d’If, a prison located on a small island in the Mediterranean Sea.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood