ocean
o·cean/ˈoʊ.ʃən/noun
ocean is spelled O-C-E-A-N: 5 letters and 2 syllables (o·cean). It appears 50 times per million words in written English, the 2,041st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Ocean, the name). As a noun, ocean means “One of the large bodies of water separating the continents” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ocean is oceans.
How many letters and syllables are in ocean?
| Letters | 5: O-C-E-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: o·cean |
| In writing | 50 times per million words; the 2,041st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ocean?
Ocean appears 50 times per million words in written English, the 2,041st most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Ocean, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ocean?
- UK /ˈəʊ.ʃən/
- US /ˈoʊ.ʃən/
- Australia /ˈəʉ.ʃən/
Ocean has 2 syllables, split o·cean in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ocean.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ocean?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ocean from its last stressed vowel (/oʊʃən/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: canoe.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ocean
- oceans plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ocean mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One of the large bodies of water separating the continents.
- 2
Water belonging to an ocean.
The island is surrounded by ocean
- 3
An immense expanse; any vast space or quantity without apparent limits.
the boundless ocean of eternity
- 4
A blue colour, like that of the ocean (also called ocean blue).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ocean in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one of the large bodies of water:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ocean come from?
From Middle English *ocean, occean, occian, occyan, from Old French occean (later reborrowed or reinforced by Middle French ocean), from Latin Ōceanus, originally from Ancient Greek Ὠκεανός (Ōkeanós, “Oceanus”, a water deity). Displaced native Old English gārseċġ. Also commonly referred to as the ocean sea, the sea of ocean (compare Latin mare ōceanum; Old French mer oceane, occeanne mer).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).