pelagic

American  

[puh-laj-ik] / pəˈlædʒ ɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the open seas or oceans.

2. living or growing at or near the surface of the ocean, far from land, as certain organisms.

---

pelagic British  

/ pɛˈlædʒɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the open sea

   pelagic whaling

2. (of marine life) living or occurring in the upper waters of open sea

3. (of geological formations) derived from material that has fallen to the bottom from the upper waters of the sea

---

pelagic Scientific  

/ pə-lăj′ĭk /

1. Relating to or living in or on oceanic waters. The pelagic zone of the ocean begins at the low tide mark and includes the entire oceanic water column. The pelagic ecosystem is largely dependent on the phytoplankton inhabiting the upper, sunlit regions, where most ocean organisms live. Biodiversity decreases sharply in the unlit zones where water pressure is high, temperatures are cold, and food sources scarce. Pelagic waters are divided, in descending order, into the epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssopelagic, and hadopelagic zones.

---

Other Word Forms

• nonpelagic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pelagic

1650–60; < Latin pelagicus < Greek pelagikós, equivalent to pélag ( os ) the sea + -ikos -ic

Explanation

Anything pelagic has something to do with the ocean, especially the open area far from the shore. Pelagic birds and fish — like tuna, jellyfish, and the Atlantic puffin — live in the open ocean. The term pelagic zone refers to a column of sea water from the surface to the ocean floor. Scientists divide the pelagic zone of the ocean into sub-categories based on their distance from the surface of the water. This word comes from a Greek root, pelagos, "high sea."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pelagic

Anglers like McKinney and Johnston have ripped west through the river to go out to the mouth of Lake Ontario, on the prowl for large, pelagic, open-water fish that can win tournaments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Harbour porpoises accounted for more than half all the strandings - 2,676 - followed by pelagic dolphins with 1,217 incidents.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025

Now the scientists — who were researching pelagic sharks at the country’s Canary Islands — are going to study the anglerfish’s body, hoping to learn more about its uncharacteristic behavior.

From Salon ● Feb. 13, 2025

The state’s shores offer temperate-weather hiking with views of dramatic cliffs, crashing waves, pelagic birds such as the blue-footed booby and several species of sandpiper, and native wildflowers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2024

The tadpoles of S. baudini, cyanosticta, phaeota, and puma are pelagic inhabitants of shallow ponds.

From Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca by William E. Duellman