OCEAN

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does ocean mean? 

• OCEAN (noun)
  The noun OCEAN has 2 senses:

1. a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere

2. anything apparently limitless in quantity or volume

  Familiarity information: OCEAN used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OCEAN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("ocean" is a kind of...):

body of water; water (the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean))

Domain member category:

body of water; water (the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean))

shore (the land along the edge of a body of water)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ocean"):

deep (literary term for an ocean)

Instance hyponyms:

Antarctic Ocean (the southern waters surrounding Antarctica)

Arctic Ocean (ice covered waters surrounding the North Pole; mostly covered with solid ice or with ice floes and icebergs)

Atlantic; Atlantic Ocean (the 2nd largest ocean; separates North and South America on the west from Europe and Africa on the east)

Indian Ocean (the 3rd largest ocean; bounded by Africa on the west, Asia on the north, Australia on the east and merging with the Antarctic Ocean to the south)

Pacific; Pacific Ocean (the largest ocean in the world)

Holonyms ("ocean" is a part of...):

hydrosphere (the watery layer of the earth's surface; includes water vapor)

Derivation:

oceanic (constituting or living in the open sea)

oceanic (relating to or occurring or living in or frequenting the open ocean)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Anything apparently limitless in quantity or volume

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

ocean; sea

Hypernyms ("ocean" is a kind of...):

large indefinite amount; large indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude)

Derivation:

oceanic (resembling the ocean in apparent limitlessness in extent or degree)

 Context examples 

The HISPANIOLA was rolling scuppers under in the ocean swell.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

You had all kinds of new groups of dinosaurs and ocean reptiles getting their start, starting to spread around the world,” said Brusatte.

(Sea Monster Swam Oceans 170 Million Years Ago, Voanews)

Indeed, I cannot think why the whole bed of the ocean is not one solid mass of oysters, so prolific the creatures seem.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was nothing for us but the wide raw ocean.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

"Models are our best chance to predict the many ways the oceans will respond as climate changes, but our predictions are only as good as the data underlying them."

(Study reveals new patterns of key ocean nutrient, National Science Foundation)

The night passed away, and the sun rose from the ocean; my feelings became calmer, if it may be called calmness when the violence of rage sinks into the depths of despair.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

The ocean, in these times, is a perfect fleet of ships; and we can hardly fail to encounter many, in running over.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

During March, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.53°F (0.85°C) above the 20th century average.

(March 2015 and first quarter of year warmest on record, NOAA)

I longed to see the ocean, which must be the only scene of my escape, if ever it should happen.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Animals without a backbone that live in the ocean

(Invertebrates, Marine, NCI Thesaurus)