Should I say ocean or sea?

Many people use the terms "ocean" and "sea" interchangeably when speaking about the ocean, but there is a difference between the two terms when speaking of geography (the study of the Earth's surface). Seas are smaller than oceans and are usually located where the land and ocean meet.

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Why do Americans say ocean?

There may also be other connotations, depending on where the speaker is from; Britain is surrounded by capital-S Seas, whereas America is surrounded by capital-O Oceans, and 'ocean' comes from Latin and so is used in more technical terms, like 'oceanography', but in regular use in English, there's very little practical ...

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Is an ocean correct?

'An' is rarely used without a qualifying completer (... just a drop in an ocean of solitude). The idiom uses 'the ocean' (meaning the nebulous watery masses as a first step towards the metaphor), just like we say 'I'm off to the seaside' (without specifying exactly where).

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Are sea and ocean synonyms?

In the most general sense, sea and ocean are often used interchangeably to refer to the massive body of salt water that covers most of the planet.

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Is ocean an American word?

the ocean. ​mainly Americana large area of salt water that lies along the coast of a country. The usual British word is the sea.

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Why the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans Don't Mix

18 related questions found

Do British people call the ocean the sea?

They don't. They refer to the Atlantic Ocean as “the pond” and North America as “across the pond". Here in Australia we call the Tasman Sea “the dutch" and New Zealand as “across the dutch".

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What is the Old English word for ocean?

Old English had mere for “sea, ocean, lake, pool, pond”, encompassing both salt- and freshwater bodies. Modern English “mere” came to denote the latter type, “pool, small lake, pond”; nowadays it exists only in place names, such as Windermere.

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Is beach a sea or ocean?

A beach is a narrow, gently sloping strip of land that lies along the edge of an ocean, lake, or river. Materials such as sand, pebbles, rocks, and seashell fragments cover beaches.

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What is a good word for ocean?

Synonyms of ocean
  • sea.
  • waters.
  • blue.
  • brine.
  • deep.
  • Neptune.
  • seven seas.
  • basin.

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Can we say a sea?

You could certainly say 'a sea', but all seas are joined, to the point where it is certainly okay to say 'the sea' without specifying WHICH sea. But 'by the sea' is on the sea shore, or along side the beach.

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Should we use the before sea?

Always use articles before: Names of rivers, seas, oceans such as, the Atlantic Ocean, the Black Sea and the Missouri River. Deserts, gulfs, forests or peninsulas such as the Amazon, the Sahara Desert and the Gulf of Mexico.

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Is it Atlantic sea or ocean?

Stretching from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica, the Atlantic Ocean is bordered by the Americas to the west and Europe and Africa to the east. It's more than 41 million square miles, the second-largest ocean on Earth after the Pacific Ocean.

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How do you use sea in a sentence?

We went swimming in the sea. The sea was calm/smooth/choppy/rough when we crossed the Channel. The refugees were at sea (= in a boat on the sea a long way from land) for 40 days before reaching land. When we moved to the US, we sent our things by sea (= in a ship).

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Did they rename an ocean?

The Southern Ocean is the 'newest' named ocean. It is recognized by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names as the body of water extending from the coast of Antarctica to the line of latitude at 60 degrees South.

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What words can't Americans say?

Here are the top 30 words Americans struggle to pronounce
  • affidavit [af-i-dey-vit]
  • almond [ah-muh nd, am-uh nd]
  • beget [bih-get]
  • cache [kash]
  • caramel [kar-uh-muh l, -mel, kahr-muh l]
  • coupon [koo-pon, kyoo-]
  • croissant [French krwah-sahn; English kruh-sahnt]
  • epitome [ih-pit-uh-mee]

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Why do humans not use the ocean?

More than 97% of water on Earth is found in the oceans. However, the high salt-content of sea water makes it unsuitable for human use.

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What do you call an ocean?

The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the world ocean is conventionally divided.

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How do you describe a sea?

In general, a sea is defined as a portion of the ocean that is partly surrounded by land. Given that definition, there are about 50 seas around the world. But that number includes water bodies not always thought of as seas, such as the Gulf of Mexico and the Hudson Bay.

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Is beach called sea?

A beach is an area along the edge of a sea, lake, or wide river that is covered with sand or small stones.

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What are the 7 seas and 5 ocean?

In modern times, the seven seas refer to regions of Earth's five oceans—the Arctic, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian, and Southern Oceans.

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Why do we call it an ocean?

The word ocean comes from the Greek word ōkeanos, taken from Oceanus, the Titan father of nearly 3,000 river gods in Greek mythology. 2.

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What is the French name for ocean?

The ocean is the sea.

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