ocean

ocean — 名詞

1. the huge stretch of salty water wrapping around our planet, or any wide expanse

1.名詞A2
釋義

海洋；大海

覆蓋地球大部分的鹹水水域

the huge stretch of salty water wrapping around our planet, or any wide expanse of it far from shore.

例句

Maya stood on the cliff and watched the ocean crash against the dark rocks below.

Maya 站在懸崖上，看著海洋拍打下方的黑色岩石。

the ocean as scenic backdrop

Plastic bottles and old fishing nets are slowly choking the ocean.

塑膠瓶和舊漁網正在慢慢扼殺海洋。

common environmental collocation

同義詞
  • sea

    everyday word for the same body of water; preferred in British English

  • the deep

    literary or poetic, suggesting mystery and danger

  • the briny

    informal British, often humorous

反義詞
  • land

    the dry surface, opposite of the watery one

文法句型

the ocean

in/across/under the ocean

用法筆記

Almost always takes the definite article: 'the ocean'. American English uses 'the ocean' where British English often says 'the sea' for the same idea.

常見錯誤

❌I love swim in ocean.
✅I love swimming in the ocean.
💡needs 'the' before 'ocean' and the -ing form after 'love'.
❌We went to ocean last weekend.
✅We went to the ocean last weekend.
💡drop the article only with proper names like 'Pacific Ocean'.

2. any of the five separately named saltwater regions on Earth — Pacific, Atlantic,

2.名詞A2
釋義

洋

全球五大海域之一的專稱

any of the five separately named saltwater regions on Earth — Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, or Arctic — each treated as a distinct geographical area.

例句

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the five oceans on Earth.

太平洋是地球五大洋中最大的一個。

proper name pattern: the [Name] Ocean

Lina's grandmother sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Lisbon to New York in 1962.

Lina 的祖母在 1962 年從里斯本航越大西洋到紐約。

across the [Name] Ocean

同義詞
  • sea

    smaller named bodies (the Mediterranean Sea); not interchangeable with the named oceans

文法句型

the [Name] Ocean

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is countable and always paired with a capitalised name (the Pacific Ocean, two oceans). Sense 1 is the general mass of water and almost never plural.

常見錯誤

❌We flew over Pacific Ocean last night.
✅We flew over the Pacific Ocean last night.
💡proper-name oceans still need 'the'.
❌The earth has five ocean.
✅The earth has five oceans.
💡countable in this sense, so add the plural -s.