algae
Microbiology. any of numerous groups of chlorophyll-containing, mainly aquatic, eukaryotic organisms ranging from microscopic single-celled forms to multicellular forms 100 feet (30 meters) or more long, distinguished from plants by the absence of true roots, stems, and leaves and by a lack of nonreproductive cells in the reproductive structures: classified into the six phyla Euglenophyta, Crysophyta, Pyrrophyta, Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, and Rhodophyta.
Origin of algae
1Other words from algae
- al·gal [al-guhl], /ˈæl gəl/, adjective
- Compare cyanobacteria.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use algae in a sentence
Earlier this month, Toledo, Ohio, watched its municipal water supply descend into an undrinkable stew of algal toxins.
The algal host cells lie in the medulla, just below the upper cortex.
Ohio Biological Survey, Bull. 10, Vol. 11, No. 6 | Bruce Fink and Leafy J. CorringtonThe chains of cells are usually badly broken up, and the nature of the algal host is, therefore, difficult to distinguish.
Ohio Biological Survey, Bull. 10, Vol. 11, No. 6 | Bruce Fink and Leafy J. CorringtonThe algal hosts are usually Dactylococcus or Polycoccus, and both hosts are sometimes found in the same thallus.
Ohio Biological Survey, Bull. 10, Vol. 11, No. 6 | Bruce Fink and Leafy J. CorringtonSatisfied with the results attained in exterminating algal growth in water-cress beds, attention was next given to reservoirs.
It was, therefore, most desirable to devise a method of ridding the bed of algal growth without injuring the cress.
British Dictionary definitions for algae
/ (ˈældʒiː) /
unicellular or multicellular organisms formerly classified as plants, occurring in fresh or salt water or moist ground, that have chlorophyll and other pigments but lack true stems, roots, and leaves. Algae, which are now regarded as protoctists, include the seaweeds, diatoms, and spirogyra
Origin of algae
1Derived forms of algae
- algal (ˈælɡəl), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for algae
[ (al-jee) ]
Primitive organisms that contain chlorophyll but do not have structures, such as xylem and phloem, to transport fluids. Algae sometimes contain only a single cell, and nowadays they are not considered members of the plant kingdom.
Notes for algae
Notes for algae
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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