plankton
Use Plankton in a sentence
tən noun
the aggregate of passively floating, drifting, or somewhat motile organisms occurring in a body of water, primarily comprising microscopic algae and protozoa.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To plankton
00:10
Plankton
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
plankton (ˈplæŋktən) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| Compare nekton the organisms inhabiting the surface layer of a sea or lake, consisting of small drifting plants and animals, such as diatoms | |
| [C19: via German from Greek planktos wandering, from plazesthai to roam] | |
| planktonic | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
plankton
1891, from Ger. Plankton (1887), coined by Ger. physiologist Viktor Hensen (1835-1924) from Gk. plankton, neut. of planktos "wandering, drifting," verbal adj. from plazesthai "to wander, drift," from plazein "to drive astray."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
| plankton (plāngk'tən) Pronunciation Key
Small organisms that float or drift in great numbers in bodies of salt or fresh water. Plankton is a primary food source for many animals, and consists of bacteria, protozoans, certain algae, cnidarians, tiny crustaceans such as copepods, and many other organisms. Compare benthos, nekton. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
It uses echolocation to scan for aerial plankton, which it scoops into its enormous mouth.
By eating plankton, they have less concern about finding prey or prey escaping, for example.
Produced by ocean plankton, the toxin can become concentrated in squid prey.
The chalk is mostly calcium carbonate from coccoliths, the skeletal remains of plankton and algae.
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