ocean floor
27
2.9
- noun
- /ˈoʊʃən flɔr/
:
fondo marino
- The documentary showcased the unique geological features of the ocean floor, including trenches and ridges.
- deep ocean floor
We were in the middle of the ocean, on the ocean floor by ourselves.
- We were in the middle of the ocean, on the ocean floor by ourselves.
- One of those companies makes a drone that maps the ocean floor.
- So they send air bombs down here and there to try to chart the ocean floor.
- A mile below our feet is an ancient ocean floor suffused with heavy metals, radioactivity and methane.
- For instance, all that methane that's coming out of the ocean floor that was sequestered because of the permafrost which is now melting.
Examples
-
Its purpose will be to explore the deepest parts of the ocean floor.
Academic text (2008) -
I'm going out there to look at the ocean floor for signs of any activity.
-
We were in the middle of the ocean, on the ocean floor by ourselves.
-
Keep as close to the ocean floor as you can.
-
And right now we're walking on the ocean floor.
-
There on the ocean floor midway between here and New York harbor lies the great Amsterdam Fault.
-
Beyond three miles of the shoreline, the depth of the ocean floor drops sharply to several thousand feet.
Academic text (2003) -
ELSIE: The depth and breadth of the ocean floor has barely been explored.
Fiction book (1998) -
Controlling ROVs on the ocean floor often requires their operators to use joysticks.
Academic text (2008) -
Hydrothermal vents are essentially geysers on the ocean floor and are associated with areas of active seafloor spreading.
Academic text (2000)
Synonyms
14
2.4
The ground at the bottom of the sea where sand and rocks lie
13
2.8
The ground under the sea or ocean
10
2.7
The bottom of the sea or ocean
2
2.5
The floor of the sea where sand, rocks, and animals live
How Deep
- Specialized
14
6.8
- Specialized
1
9.4
27
2.9
- Specialized
1
7.4
- Specialized
4
5.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the bottom surface of the sea' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'ocean' (sea) with 'floor' (bottom surface), since 'floor' readily extends to denote the lowest surface of a space. This compositional, literal pattern is common across languages and standard in English noun compounds, so a B1 learner who knows both words would reliably infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Ocean floor paints a simple picture: the ocean is a huge body of water and the floor is the ground under it, so it literally means the 'bottom' of the sea, the surface where flat areas, ridges and deep trenches are found.