oceanic

[oh-shee-an-ik]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR oceanic ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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.

Nearby words

Origin of oceanic

1650–60; < Medieval Latin ōceanicus, equivalent to Latin ōcean(us) ocean + -icus -ic

Related formspre·o·ce·an·ic, adjectiveun·o·ce·an·ic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for oceanic

John Luther Adams lives up to the title of his composition, capturing an oceanic torrent of sound in an awe-inspiring performance.
The Best Albums of 2014|Ted Gioia|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rarely so personal, death was more often oceanic and everywhere.
Blood and Mud: A French Soldier’s WWI Memoir Vividly Describes Trench Warfare|Marc Wortman|May 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
Some were funny, some sad, and all managed to convey the sense of isolation and fear felt by the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815.
Celebrating Lost for the Last Time|Jace Lacob|May 14, 2010|DAILY BEAST

I can almost hear an oceanic sigh of relief from members of the Sandwich Generation.
It Took a Woman|Gail Sheehy|March 21, 2010|DAILY BEAST
An oceanic fish, well-known as the bonito or horse-mackerel.
The Sailor's Word-Book|William Henry Smyth
The Snow Goose is never seen here; none, indeed, but oceanic species are seen here.
Audubon and his Journals, Volume I (of 2)|Maria R. Audubon
Though terrestrial mammals do not occur on oceanic islands, arial mammals do occur on almost every island.
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection|Charles Darwin
What oceanic currents, eddies, underneath—the great tides of humanity also, with ever-shifting movements.
A History of American Literature Since 1870|Fred Lewis Pattee
This is the necessary result of substantial permanency of oceanic basins.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, Vol. 56, March 1900|Various

British Dictionary definitions for oceanic

oceanic

adjective

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

Oceanic

noun

a branch, group, or subfamily of the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages, comprising Polynesian and Melanesian

adjective

of, relating to, or belonging to this group of languages

of or relating to Oceania

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

oceanic

adj.

1650s, probably from French océanique, from océan (see ocean).

Science definitions for oceanic

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.

oceanic

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of oceanic

Examples from the Web for oceanic

oceanic

adjective

Oceanic

noun

adjective

oceanic

oceanic