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).

---

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)

---

Mediterranean Sea Cultural  

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

---

Etymology

Origin of Mediterranean Sea

First recorded in 1550–60

Example Sentences

The average surface temperature of Europe's seas was also the highest on record, with the Mediterranean Sea particularly badly hit.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026

The “Wander” guide maps out the division of the space into four regions correlating to bodies of water: the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

Chevron is set to conduct exploration work later this year in Egypt, where it holds 9 million net acres in the Mediterranean Sea, and it recently confirmed substantial oil discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

The roughly 1,000-mile-long pipeline began operations in 1950, connecting oilfields of eastern Saudi Arabia to the port of Sidon in Lebanon, on the Mediterranean Sea.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

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