ocean (redirected from Abyssal plain)

o·cean  (shn)

n.

1. The entire body of salt water that covers more than 70 percent of the earth's surface.

2. Abbr. Oc. or O. Any of the principal divisions of the ocean, including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic oceans.

3. A great expanse or amount: "that ocean of land which is Russia" (Henry A. Kissinger).

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[Middle English occean, from Old French, from Latin ceanus, from Greek keanos, the god Oceanus, a great river encircling the earth.]

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ocean [ˈəʊʃən]

n

1. (Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) a very large stretch of sea, esp one of the five oceans of the world, the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic

2. (Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) the body of salt water covering approximately 70 per cent of the earth's surface

3. a huge quantity or expanse an ocean of replies

4. Literary the sea

[via Old French from Latin ōceanus, from Greek ōkeanos Oceanus]

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ocean  (shn)

1. The continuous body of salt water that covers 72 percent of the Earth's surface. The average salinity of ocean water is approximately three percent. The deepest known area of the ocean, at 11,034 m (36,192 ft) is the Mariana Trench, located in the western Pacific Ocean.

2. Any of the principal divisions of this body of water, including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic Oceans.

Usage The word ocean refers to one of the Earth's four distinct, large areas of salt water, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans. The word can also mean the entire network of water that covers almost three quarters of our planet. It comes from the Greek Okeanos, a river believed to circle the globe. The word sea can also mean the vast ocean covering most of the world. But it more commonly refers to large landlocked or almost landlocked salty waters smaller than the great oceans, such as the Mediterranean Sea or the Bering Sea. Sailors have long referred to all the world's waters as the seven seas. Although the origin of this phrase is not known for certain, many people believe it referred to the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Black Sea, the Adriatic Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Indian Ocean, which were the waters of primary interest to Europeans before Columbus.

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Ocean/Oceanfronts 

See Also: SEASCAPES

1. The Alvin [a ship] … moved through the dark sea like a robot fish —Richard Moran
2. The beach is bare as the blue bowl of the sky —John Hall Wheelock

   See Also: BARENESS

3. The beach was splattered with people like bright rags —Nadine Gordimer
4. (Here in front of the summer hotel) the beach waits like an altar —Anne Sexton
5. A beach, white and slender like a young moon —Louis Bromfield
6. A breaker … roaring over the reef like a herd of crazed animals running before a forest fire —Clive Cussler
7. The gentle surf crested in the quick darkness with swirling phosphorous fringes of tiny animals like liquid silver —James Crumley
8. Long blue rollers coming in … each a neat and level line like an ironed crease —George Garrett
9. The ocean frowns like elephant hide —Karl Shapiro
10. The ocean like sleek gray stone —Robinson Jeffers
11. The ocean looked like a wide lavender ribbon stitched up against a pink-and-blue sky —Sue Grafton
12. The ocean rumbled like a train backing up —Anne Sexton
13. The ocean seemed to hover in the distance like a gray haze blending into the gray of the sky —Sue Grafton
14. The rough white crests of waves walk as if in moccasins —Diane Wakoski
15. The sea growled like a dog —John Mortimer
16. The sea has that oily sheen to it, like an empty swimming pool —William Boyd
17. The sea is like a human being … always moving, always something deep in itself stirring it … always wanting —Olive Shreiner
18. The sea [along the beach jetties] trembling among the stones like gelatin —Thomas McGuane
19. The sea whispered and hummed like a great shell held to the ear —Mary Stewart
20. The surf hisses like tambourines —Derek Walcott
21. The tide came in like ten thousand orgasms —Anne Sexton

    See Also: NOISE

22. The water ran over the sand, one wave covering another like the knitting of threads —Rachel Ingalls
23. Waves … black as cypresses, clear as the water of a wishing well —Denise Levertov

    See Also: BLACK, CLARITY

24. Waves crashing with the sound as of breaking biscuits —Vita Sackville-West
25. Waves … leaping like hounds up at the rocks —Josephine Jacobsen
26. Waves like small mountains rose with the shrieking wind into the black sky —James Stern
27. A wave like a vast castle —Arabian Nights
28. Waves, like blue animals stampeding —George Garrett
29. Waves like white feathers —George Garrett
30. The waves pulse … like hearts —Sylvia Plath
31. A wave suddenly raged out like a mountain cat —Stephen Crane
32. Waves that rose like mountains —D. R. MacDonald
33. The waves were skidding in like big buildings that swayed drunkenly and then toppled over on their faces and splattered all over the hard sand —Arthur Miller

    Miller, best known for his plays, has also written short stories … one of which, I Don’t Need You Any More, is the source for this comparison.

34. When the surf is up its roaring fills you like a shell —Marge Piercy
35. The whole expanse of water … glistened like a sheet of stretched blue silk —Robie Macauley

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	ocean - a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere body of water, water - the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean); "they invaded our territorial waters"; "they were sitting by the water's edge" deep - literary term for an ocean; "denizens of the deep" hydrosphere - the watery layer of the earth's surface; includes water vapor shore - the land along the edge of a body of water
	2.	ocean - anything apparently limitless in quantity or volume sea large indefinite amount, large indefinite quantity - an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude

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ocean

noun

1. sea, the deep, the waves, main, the drink (informal), the briny (informal) the beautiful sight of the calm ocean on a warm night

2. a lot, a great deal, a mass (informal), a load (informal), a multitude, a heap, a stack, an abundance, a large amount, a plethora, a quantity, a profusion, a number, a vast number He has oceans of loyal fans. see seas and oceans

Translations

ocean [ˈəʊʃən]

A. N → océano m
oceans of (fig) → la mar de

B. CPD [climate, region] → oceánico
ocean bed N → fondo m del océano
ocean cruise N → crucero m
ocean liner N → transatlántico m

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ocean [ˈəʊʃ^ən] n

(= sea) → océan m
the seas and oceans of the world → les mers et océans du monde
I went down to the ocean and took a swim → Je suis allé jusqu'à l'océan et j'ai nagé.
it's a drop in the ocean (= insignificant amount) → c'est une goutte d'eau dans l'océan

(fig)
The blues span an ocean of styles → Le blues recouvre une multitude de styles.
oceans of (= lots of) → des tonnes de
an ocean of tears → un océan de larmes
ocean bed n → fonds mpl océaniques
ocean-going [ˈəʊʃ^əngəʊɪŋ] adj [boat, vessel] → de haute mer

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ocean

n

→ Ozean m, → Meer nt

an ocean of flowers → ein Blumenmeer nt; oceans of (inf) → jede Menge (inf), → massenhaft

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ocean:

ocean bed

n → Meeresboden m → or -grund m

ocean chart

n → Seekarte f

ocean climate

n → Meeresklima nt, → maritimes Klima

ocean-going

adj → hochseetauglich; ocean tug → Hochseeschlepper m

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ocean:

Ocean State

n the ocean (US) → Rhode Island nt

ocean voyage

n → Schiffsreise f, → Seereise f

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ocean [ˈəʊʃ/ən] n → oceano
oceans of (fam) → fiumi mpl di

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ocean

n ocean [ˈəuʃən]

1 the salt water that covers most of the earth's surface. oseaan, see, wêreldsee مُحيط океани oceán hav; ocean der Ozean ωκεανός océano ookean اقیانوس meri océan יָם महासागर ocean tenger samudra haf, úthaf oceano 海 바다 vandenynas, okeanas okeāns laut oceaan hav, osean ocean oceano ocean (мировой) океан oceán ocean okean ocean, hav น่านน้ำทะเลกว้างใหญ่ okyanus 海洋 океан سمندر đại dương 海洋

2 one of its five main divisions the Atlantic Ocean. oseaan, see أحَد المُحيطات الخَمْسَه океан oceán -havet der Ozean ωκεανός (ο καθένας από τους πέντε της γης) océano ookean هر یک از پنج اقیانوس valtameri océan אוֹקייָנוּס पांच महासागरों में से एक ocean óceán samudra haf oceano ～洋 대양 vandenynas okeāns lautan oceaan hav ocean oceano Ocean океан oceán ocean okean världshav มหาสมุทร ... Okyanusu 大洋 океан محيط، بحر một trong năm đại dương chính 大洋

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ocean → مُحِيط oceán ocean Ozean ωκεανός océano valtameri océan ocean oceano 海洋 대양 oceaan hav ocean oceano океан hav มหาสมุทร okyanus đại dương 海洋