Indian Ocean

[ in-dee-uhn oh-shuhn ]

noun

1. an ocean south of Asia, east of Africa, and west of Australia, with its deepest section in the Java Trench. 27,243,268 square miles (70,560,000 square kilometers).

Indian Ocean

noun

1. an ocean bordered by Africa in the west, Asia in the north, and Australia in the east and merging with the Antarctic Ocean in the south. Average depth: 3900 m (13 000 ft). Greatest depth (off the Sunda Islands): 7450 m (24 442 ft). In December 2004 a major undersea earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami which affected large areas of the ocean as far away as east Africa, and killed an estimated 226 435 people. Area: about 73 556 000 sq km (28 400 000 sq miles)

Indian Ocean

1. Third-largest ocean (after the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean ), extending from southern Asia to Antarctica and from eastern Africa to southeastern Australia .

Word History and Origins

Origin of Indian Ocean¹

First recorded in 1580–90

Example Sentences

The area of the Indian Ocean left to be searched for Flight 370 is vast—more than 23,000 square miles.

From The Daily Beast

It also raises the question of why more appropriate resources were not sent to the Indian Ocean sooner.

From The Daily Beast

At the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, you can snorkel with a retired Asian elephant Rajan.

From The Daily Beast

Everyone on board knew that a Malaysian Airlines flight had been missing, and all were presumed dead in the Indian Ocean.

From The Daily Beast

Days were wasted searching the South China Sea, not the Indian Ocean.

From The Daily Beast

The Indian Ocean, meanwhile, swarmed with pirates of whose rapacity and cruelty frightful stories were told.

From Project Gutenberg

After some days we were in the Indian Ocean, plowing lazily along and counting the hours until we reached Mombasa.

From Project Gutenberg

These Indian Ocean steamers are usually filled with an interesting lot of passengers.

From Project Gutenberg

I have spoken of the abundance and variety of the epiphytous plants which grow profusely in the islands of the Indian Ocean.

From Project Gutenberg

The Papuan races likewise wandered far across the Indian Ocean.

From Project Gutenberg