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

WMO scientific officer John Kennedy said global weather is still under the influence of La Nina, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that cools surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

The booster involved has already flown 13 missions, and is expected to land on a ship in the Pacific Ocean.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

One of the strongest influences on these shifting patterns is the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, a natural warming and cooling cycle in the Pacific Ocean that affects rainfall around the world.

From Science Daily • Mar. 5, 2026

They will end the mission with a splash down in the Pacific Ocean.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

I crossed the Pacific Ocean the first time when I was seven years old, in 1946.

From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen