oceanic

adjective

oce·​an·​ic ˌō-shē-ˈa-nik 

1

a

: of or relating to the ocean

b

: occurring in or frequenting the ocean and especially the open sea as distinguished from littoral or neritic waters

2

: vast, great

3

Oceanic linguistics : relating to, belonging to, or characterizing a subfamily of the Austronesian family of languages that is spoken in Polynesia and most of the islands of Melanesia and Micronesia

Synonyms

• marine
• maritime
• pelagic

Examples of oceanic in a Sentence

the theory that ancient mariners took advantage of oceanic currents to roam the seas on primitive rafts

during his solo crossing of the Atlantic he managed to avoid the fierce oceanic storms that rage in those tropical latitudes

Recent Examples on the Web

This piece by Danielle Roney shows a real-time generative oceanic animation environment over a projection surface of 10,816 square feet. —Robin Raven, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025

The busy forecast signals that experts think atmospheric and oceanic factors will align to facilitate plenty of storm development months from now. —Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2025

The Nankai Trough is an oceanic trench located off the southern coastline of the Japanese mainland. —Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025

Catching oceanic white-tip sharks is prohibited under Sri Lankan law, as is the removal of shark fins at sea. —Ian Urbina, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin Ōceanicus, from Ōceanus "the sea flowing around the land mass of the known world, ocean" + -icus -ic entry 1

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing oceanic

• inter-oceanic
• oceanic whitetip
• oceanic white-tipped shark
• oceanic whitetip shark

Rhymes for oceanic

• aldermanic
• inorganic
• magellanic
• messianic
• pozzolanic
• talismanic
• transuranic
• bannock
• laennec
• manic
• panic
• stannic