Pacific Ocean

American  

[puh-sif-ik oh-shuhn] / pəˈsɪf ɪk ˈoʊ ʃən /

Often the Pacific

noun

1. the largest of the world’s five principal oceans, bordered by the American continents, Asia, and Australia, with its deepest section in the Mariana Trench: divided by the equator into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean. 62,455,900 square miles (161,760,000 square kilometers).

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Pacific Ocean British  

noun

1. the world's largest and deepest ocean, lying between Asia and Australia and North and South America: almost landlocked in the north, linked with the Arctic Ocean only by the Bering Strait, and extending to Antarctica in the south; has exceptionally deep trenches, and a large number of volcanic and coral islands. Area: about 165 760 000 sq km (64 000 000 sq miles). Average depth: 4215 m (14 050 ft). Greatest depth: Challenger Deep (in the Marianas Trench), 11 033 m (37 073 ft). Greatest width: (between Panama and Mindanao, Philippines) 17 066 km (10 600 miles)

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Pacific Ocean Cultural  

1. The largest ocean in the world, separating Asia and Australia on the west from North America and South America on the east.

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Etymology

Origin of Pacific Ocean

First recorded in 1560–70

Example Sentences

If all goes well, the craft will splash down about 40 minutes later in the Pacific Ocean, near San Diego.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Three minutes later, around 5:07 p.m., the capsule will splash down in the Pacific Ocean.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Both El Niño and its counterpart La Niña are natural shifts in global weather patterns, primarily focused on Pacific Ocean temperatures, but they can impact the whole planet.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

Once that stage is complete, powerful parachutes will slow the spacecraft, which will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

It was the dawn of a beautiful day in the Pacific Ocean.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel