Benthic

//ˈbɛnθɪk// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any organism that lives on the seafloor.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Pertaining to the benthos; living on the seafloor, as opposed to floating in the ocean. not-comparable

    "The benthic environment, except for intertidal areas, has been scarcely explored[…]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    of or relating to or happening on the bottom under a body of water wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
benthalbenthonicbenthonicbottom-dwellingdemersaldemersal

Example

More examples

"At first glance the sand seems barren and unproductive. After a while, if you are careful not to kick up sand, you might see tiny benthic communities of tube-building worms come alive as they sweep the passing nutrient rich waters with tentacles to capture food."

Etymology

From benthos + -ic. By surface analysis, benth- + -ic.

Related phrases

benthic black

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.