Okhotsk

American  

[oh-kotsk, uh-khawtsk] / oʊˈkɒtsk, ʌˈxɔtsk /

noun

1. Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the North Pacific Ocean enclosed by the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kurile Islands, Sakhalin, and the Russian Federation in Asia. 582,000 square miles (1,507,380 square kilometers); greatest depth, 10,554 feet (3,217 meters).

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Okhotsk British  

/ aˈɔxtsk, ˈəʊkɒtsk /

noun

1. part of the NW Pacific, surrounded by the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kurile Islands, Sakhalin Island, and the E coast of Siberia. Area: 1 589 840 sq km (613 838 sq miles)

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Etymology

Origin of Okhotsk

First recorded in 1815–20; from Russian Okhótsk, equivalent to Okhot(a) the name of a river, probably from Evenki (Lamut) okat “river” + -sk, Russian noun suffix used in placenames

Example Sentences

There it comes into contact with another, smaller plate - called the Okhotsk microplate.

From BBC • Jul. 30, 2025

Russian fishery managers set the quota at more than 2 million metric tons of pollock, which has been pulled largely from the Okhotsk and Bering seas, according to Intrafish, a seafood industry publication.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 22, 2023

Moscow also began drills in the Sea of Japan and far eastern Sea of Okhotsk on Monday, which will involve over 60 warships and support vessels from its Pacific Fleet.

From Reuters • Jun. 5, 2023

The warships then sailed into the nearby Sea of Okhotsk.

From Washington Times • May 10, 2023

Navy divers, or "frogmen," used a mini-submarine to place a "pod" on an important Soviet underwater communications cable in the Sea of Okhotsk, north of Japan and near the eastern coast of the Soviet Union.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau