Indian Ocean

noun

an ocean S of Asia, E of Africa, and W of Australia. 28,357,000 sq. mi. (73,444,630 sq. km).

British Dictionary definitions for Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

noun

an ocean bordered by Africa in the west, Asia in the north, and Australia in the east and merging with the Antarctic Ocean in the south. Average depth: 3900 m (13 000 ft). Greatest depth (off the Sunda Islands): 7450 m (24 442 ft). In December 2004 a major undersea earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami which affected large areas of the ocean as far away as east Africa, and killed an estimated 226 435 people. Area: about 73 556 000 sq km (28 400 000 sq miles)

Word Origin and History for Indian Ocean

first attested 1515 in Modern Latin (Oceanus Orientalis Indicus), named for India, which projects into it; earlier it was the Eastern Ocean, as opposed to the Western Ocean (Atlantic) before the Pacific was surmised.

Indian Ocean in Culture

Indian Ocean definition

Third-largest ocean (after the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean), extending from southern Asia to Antarctica and from eastern Africa to southeastern Australia.