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).

---

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)

---

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.

---

Etymology

Origin of Pacific Ocean

First recorded in 1560–70

Example Sentences

"If you took all the land on Earth and pieced it together, you would not cover the Pacific Ocean," Voight pointed out.

From Barron's • May 25, 2026

Authorities are making plans to divert any leaked chemical away from storm drains and the Pacific Ocean.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026

During La Niña, the sea surface temperatures of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean cool — the opposite of the El Niño trend.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

New forecasts show increasing confidence that the developing El Niño in the tropical Pacific Ocean could be one of the strongest on record with warnings of record global temperatures and huge humanitarian impacts.

From BBC • May 14, 2026

A sprawling collection of reactors and support buildings, the Fukushima Daiichi plant covered almost 1.5 square miles along the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland