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
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.
First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin, from Greek óasis, from Egyptian wḥʾt “oasis region”
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s an oasis for arts, tasteful wealth, and Southern manners in one of the reddest parts of the country.
From Slate • May 4, 2026
At the heart of it is the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.
From Barron's • May 3, 2026
He joins us at the swanky Sunset Marquis hotel in West Hollywood where rock stars have gathered for decades in a luxury oasis behind the Sunset Strip.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
It was startling — the opposite of an oasis in the desert.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
The light was turning gold, and sunlight shone through a gap in the mountains and made a bar of radiance on a wall of rock just beyond the oasis.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
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.
