oceanic

[ oh-shee-an-ik ]
See synonyms for oceanic on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of, living in, or produced by the ocean: oceanic currents.

  2. Oceanography. of or relating to the region of water lying above the bathyal, abyssal, and hadal zones of the sea bottom.: Compare neritic, pelagic.

  1. immensely large; vast: an oceanic expanse of stars.

  2. (initial capital letter) of or relating to Oceania, its peoples, or their languages.

Origin of oceanic

1
First recorded in 1650–60; from Medieval Latin ōceanicus, equivalent to Latin ōcean(us) + -icus adjective suffix; see origin at ocean, -ic

Other words from oceanic

  • pre·o·ce·an·ic, adjective
  • un·o·ce·an·ic, adjective

Words Nearby oceanic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use oceanic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for oceanic (1 of 2)

oceanic

/ (ˌəʊʃɪˈænɪk) /


adjective
  1. of or relating to the ocean

  2. living in the depths of the ocean beyond the continental shelf at a depth exceeding 200 metres: oceanic fauna

  1. huge or overwhelming

  2. (of geological formations) of volcanic origin, arising from the ocean: oceanic islands

British Dictionary definitions for Oceanic (2 of 2)

Oceanic

/ (ˌəʊʃɪˈænɪk) /


noun
  1. a branch, group, or subfamily of the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages, comprising Polynesian and Melanesian

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or belonging to this group of languages

  2. of or relating to Oceania

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for oceanic

oceanic

[ ō′shē-ănĭk ]


  1. Relating to the ocean.

  2. Relating to the ocean waters that lie beyond the continental shelf and exceed 200 m (656 ft) in depth. Compare neritic. See more at epipelagic zone.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.