oceanic
[oh-shee-an-ik]
- of, living in, or produced by the ocean: oceanic currents.
- of or relating to the region of water lying above the bathyal, abyssal, and hadal zones of the sea bottom.Compare neritic, pelagic.
- immensely large; vast: an oceanic expanse of stars.
- (initial capital letter) of or relating to Oceania, its peoples, or their languages.
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Origin of oceanic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for oceanic
Contemporary Examples
John Luther Adams lives up to the title of his composition, capturing an oceanic torrent of sound in an awe-inspiring performance.
Rarely so personal, death was more often oceanic and everywhere.
Blood and Mud: A French Soldier’s WWI Memoir Vividly Describes Trench WarfareMarc Wortman
May 1, 2014
He falls deep into oceanic silence, interrupted only by the sound of Adele (singing a mediocre Bond anthem), and you know what?
Is ‘Skyfall’ the Best (and Gayest) James Bond Movie Yet?Ramin Setoodeh, Marlow Stern
November 9, 2012
Some were funny, some sad, and all managed to convey the sense of isolation and fear felt by the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815.
I can almost hear an oceanic sigh of relief from members of the Sandwich Generation.
Historical Examples
These oceanic streams are regular, though not regularly defined.
The Ocean WaifsMayne Reid
Moreover, Mauritius and the other islands appear to me oceanic in character.
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume IICharles Darwin
The Coryphæna hippuris, an oceanic fish; often called "dolphin."
The Sailor's Word-BookWilliam Henry Smyth
Also, the Gadus morrhua, one of the most important of oceanic fishes.
The Sailor's Word-BookWilliam Henry Smyth
An oceanic fish, well-known as the bonito or horse-mackerel.
The Sailor's Word-BookWilliam Henry Smyth
oceanic
- of or relating to the ocean
- living in the depths of the ocean beyond the continental shelf at a depth exceeding 200 metresoceanic fauna
- huge or overwhelming
- (of geological formations) of volcanic origin, arising from the oceanoceanic islands
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Oceanic
- a branch, group, or subfamily of the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages, comprising Polynesian and Melanesian
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- of, relating to, or belonging to this group of languages
- of or relating to Oceania
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for oceanic
adj.
1650s, probably from French océanique, from océan (see ocean).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
oceanic
[ō′shē-ăn′ĭk]
- Relating to the ocean.
- Relating to the ocean waters that lie beyond the continental shelf and exceed 200 m (656 ft) in depth. Compare neritic. See more at epipelagic zone.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.