blad·der

[blad-er]
noun
1.
Anatomy, Zoology.
a.
a membranous sac or organ serving as a receptacle for a fluid or air.
2.
Pathology. a vesicle, blister, cyst, etc., filled with fluid or air.
3.
Botany. an air-filled sac or float, as in certain seaweeds.
4.
something resembling a bladder, as the inflatable lining of a football or basketball.
5.
an air-filled sac, usually made to resemble a club, used for beatings in low comedy, vaudeville, or the like.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English blǣddre, blǣdre bladder, blister, pimple; cognate with Old Norse blāthra, dialectal Dutch bladder, German Blatter; akin to blow2

blad·der·less, adjective
blad·der·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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00:10
Bladder is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
Collins
World English Dictionary
bladder (ˈblædə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  anatomy a distensible membranous sac, usually containing liquid or gas, esp the urinary bladderRelated: vesical
2.  an inflatable part of something
3.  a blister, cyst, vesicle, etc, usually filled with fluid
4.  a hollow vesicular or saclike part or organ in certain plants, such as the bladderwort or bladderwrack
 
Related: vesical
 
[Old English blǣdre]
 
'bladdery
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

bladder
O.E. blædre (W.Saxon), bledre (Anglian) "bladder," also "blister, pimple," from P.Gmc. *blaedron (cf. O.N. blaðra, O.H.G. blattara, Du. blaar), from PIE *bhle- (see blast).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

bladder blad·der (blād'ər)
n.

  1. Any of various distensible membranous sacs, such as the urinary bladder, that serve as receptacles for fluid or gas.

  2. A blister, pustule, or cyst filled with fluid or air; vesicle.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
bladder   (blād'ər)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. A sac-shaped muscular organ that stores the urine secreted by the kidneys, found in all vertebrates except birds and the monotremes. In mammals, urine is carried from the kidneys to the bladder by the ureters and is later discharged from the body through the urethra.

  2. An air bladder.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

bladder definition


A stretchable saclike structure in the body that holds fluids. The term is used most often to refer to the urinary bladder, which is part of the excretory system. Another kind of bladder is the gallbladder.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Bladder cancer is a cancer that starts in the bladder.
When a water flea or some other small creature swims past, it bends trigger
  hairs on the bladder, causing a flap to open.
The father then revisits the eggs and keeps them moist with bladder water.
My bladder must be the size of a large hot-water bottle.
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