Plankton

//ˈplæŋ(k).tən// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Organisms, especially small and microscopic ones, that drift in water. uncountable, usually

    "Whales feed on tiny plankton drifting in the ocean."

  2. 2
    the aggregate of small plant and animal organisms that float or drift in great numbers in fresh or salt water wordnet
  3. 3
    A plankter, any single organism that drifts in water. countable, usually

Synonyms

All synonyms
nektonalevinalgaebenthonbenthosbrown algae

Example

More examples

"Whales feed on plankton and small fish."

Etymology

Borrowed from German Plankton, coined by German zoologist and marine biologist Victor Hensen. By surface analysis, Ancient Greek πλαγκτός (planktós, “drifter”) + -on. Ultimately from Ancient Greek πλαγκτόν (planktón, “drifting”), neuter nominative of πλαγκτός (planktós), from πλάζομαι (plázomai, “to wander, drift”), from πλάζω (plázō, “to cause to wander, drive astray”). By surface analysis, plankt- + -on.

Related phrases

office plankton

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