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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

ocean

/ˈoʊ.ʃən/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:57
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What does ocean mean?

noun

  1. One of the large bodies of water separating the continents.
  2. Water belonging to an ocean.
  3. (figuratively) An immense expanse; any vast space or quantity without apparent limits.
More meanings (5)

noun

  1. A blue colour, like that of the ocean (also called ocean blue).

proper noun

  1. A female given name from English, of modern usage.
  2. A township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, which originally extended to the ocean.
  3. A township in Ocean County, New Jersey.
  4. The deity Oceanus.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈoʊ.ʃən/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

“Yes, the ocean has indeed circulation, and to promote it, the Creator has caused things to multiply in it—caloric, salt, and animalculae.”
Jules VerneTwenty Thousand Leagues under the SeaProject Gutenberg ebook #164
The smoke vanished, the vast silence closed upon the passing echoes of the rifle as the ocean closes upon a ship's wake.
Frank NorrisMcTeague: A Story of San FranciscoProject Gutenberg ebook #165
More book examples (3)
The ocean was, after all, very large, and when one took one’s plunge one seemed to have it quite to one’s self.
Henry JamesConfidenceProject Gutenberg ebook #178
Down through the startled ocean A mighty vessel came, Not white, as all dead ships must be, But red, like living flame!
Joyce KilmerMain Street, and Other PoemsProject Gutenberg ebook #264
Picture the sky both dark and wild, and the clouds, in fearful sympathy with the waves, making another ocean in the air.
Charles DickensAmerican NotesProject Gutenberg ebook #675