oceanic trench

[ oh-shee-an-ik trench ]

noun

1. a depression of significant depth in the ocean floor, usually about 2.0–2.5 miles (3–4 kilometers) deeper than the surface of the surrounding seafloor and about 30–60 miles (50–100 kilometers) wide, with a length that may span thousands of miles or kilometers: an integral element of plate tectonics.

oceanic trench

noun

1. a long narrow steep-sided depression in the earth's oceanic crust, usually lying above a subduction zone

Word History and Origins

Origin of oceanic trench¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Microplastics have been found in even the most remote corners of the Earth, such as the Mariana Trench, the deepest oceanic trench on the planet.

From Slate

But before we get there, an unexpected trap chute opens, dumping her — and us — into an oceanic trench, both literal and metaphorical.

From New York Times

The area is studded with volcanoes, formed during the Jurassic era 100 million years ago, by the collision of the Chile Rise and the Peru-Chile oceanic trench.

From New York Times

Andros is now known chiefly as a sport-fishing and scuba-diving destination—besides a sizable barrier reef, the island is bordered by a massive oceanic trench known as the Tongue of the Ocean, and has more blue holes than anywhere else in the world.

From The New Yorker

Sunk in 1987 by a billionaire marine salvage operator, Joe Farrell, the ship sits on the edge of the Tongue of the Ocean, a yawning oceanic trench more than 6,000 feet deep.

From New York Times