oasis
noun
a small fertile or green area in a desert region, usually having a spring or well.
oasis
American
[oh-ay-sis]
/ oʊˈeɪ sɪs /
noun
-
oases
plural
oasis
1
British
/ əʊˈeɪsɪs /
noun
-
a fertile patch in a desert occurring where the water table approaches or reaches the ground surface
-
a place of peace, safety, or happiness in the midst of trouble or difficulty
Oasis
2
British
/ əʊˈeɪsɪs /
noun
oasis
Scientific
/ ō-ā′sĭs /
-
oases
plural
Usage
Plural word for oasis The plural form of oasis is oases, pronounced [ oh-ey-seez ]. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -is are also formed in this way, including hypothesis/hypotheses, crisis/crises, and axis/axes. A similar change is made when pluralizing appendix as appendices. Irregular plurals that are formed like oases derive directly from their original pluralization in Latin and Greek.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of oasis
First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin, from Greek óasis, from Egyptian wḥʾt “oasis region”
Explanation
As you walk through the desert of life, may you always find your oasis — a place where you can find safety and sustenance. Although the literal meaning of oasis is "a green spot in the desert," it can also be used to describe a peaceful area in our everyday lives. Perhaps your home is your oasis, where you can escape life's rigors. An oasis refers to a location, but it can also be an imagined place — as in an acting exercise where an actor builds an imaginary oasis in his or her mind. The actor can then remember the image to relax on stage.
Vocabulary lists containing oasis
Figurative Language in King's "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Physical Geography - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The backyard is a true oasis, with a lagoon-style pool and perfectly manicured landscaping.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
It’s China’s duty-free retail mecca and a tropical oasis, to boot.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
It’s about 10 miles off our route but is an air-conditioned oasis of burgers, pie a la mode and endless ice water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
It was the last chance to pack supplies before the route’s most arduous section, and the first oasis one saw on the way back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
As it did so, a sudden, fleeting image came to the boy: an army, with its swords at the ready, riding into the oasis.
From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho
Farmers' fury as race for £233m funding compared to 'scramble for Oasis tickets'
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
A collection of early Oasis photos sold for £5,400 and a pair of leather shoes which once belonged to Noel Gallagher sold for £1,200.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
That sold for £2,400 and an early Oasis demo tape sold for £3,600.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
"It was unprecedented for it to be such a scramble, it's been likened to getting tickets for an Oasis concert," said Brun, whose crops include wheat, barley and oilseed rape.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Through the small window, I watch the ocean roll, the rickety Oasis breaking up as it smashes against the rocks.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
But the war is hitting their core business proposition—being oases of stability within a volatile region—and delivering a blow to efforts to diversify their economies beyond energy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
Cholla gardens and brittlebush rise from pale alluvial slopes, and a seasonal stream leads to one of California’s few native fan palm oases.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
These included higher elevation areas with more moisture and vegetation, highly saline zones exposed to intense UV radiation, and fog-fed oases where plant life flourishes against the odds.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 2, 2026
Such bubbles of longing buoy most love stories, although they're employed as sparing oases between expositional expanses.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2024
In a hundred miles we passed two oases, the first at Olancha, the second around Lone Pine, a small, tree-filled town where a lot of mountain buffs turn off for the Mount Whitney Portal.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
