Pacific Ocean

[ puh-sif-ik oh-shuhn ]

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

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

1. The largest ocean in the world, separating Asia and Australia on the west from North America and South America on the east.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pacific Ocean¹

First recorded in 1560–70

Example Sentences

Seen from space, the storm is enormous, spanning a large portion of the Northern Pacific ocean.

From Los Angeles Times

One of the only long-term predictive measures that forecasters can use, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation cycle, or ENSO, remains in neutral, meaning that the Pacific Ocean isn’t currently in either a La Niña or El Niño cycle.

From Los Angeles Times

A storm developing off the coast of the US northwest is forecast to bring high winds, flooding and snow to over seven million residents living in states along the Pacific Ocean.

From BBC

The Philippines is made up of around 7,500 islands in the Pacific Ocean.

From NewsForKids.net

The lights of Century City flicked on in the distance, and the expansive view of the Pacific Ocean disappeared from sight.

From Los Angeles Times