phytoplankton
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of phytoplankton
Explanation
Tiny plants that live near the surface of the ocean and are too small to see are phytoplankton. Many small sea creatures, like krill, feed on phytoplankton. Yum! The word phytoplankton comes from Greek roots: phyton, "plant," and planktos, "wandering or drifting." Much plankton is composed of tiny animals, but the plankton made up of plants is phytoplankton. These microscopic organisms drift along close enough to the ocean's surface to photosynthesize, absorbing light and making their own food. Phytoplankton are an important part of the food chain — they're eaten by krill, which are eaten by baleen whales.
Vocabulary lists containing phytoplankton
Ecology - Matter and Energy Flow in Ecosystems- Middle School
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Ecology - Matter and Energy Flow in Ecosystems - High School
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Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Marine phytoplankton are tiny algae that sit at the base of ocean food webs.
From Science Daily • Jan. 12, 2026
All appear free from the layer of phytoplankton detritus covering the nearby seabed -- a sharp contrast easily seen in the central portion of the image.
From Science Daily • Oct. 29, 2025
She fed the zoae live phytoplankton and brine shrimp.
From Slate • Aug. 19, 2025
The creatures eat phytoplankton on the ocean surface which grow by transforming carbon dioxide into living matter through photosynthesis.
From BBC • Jul. 4, 2025
The phytoplankton, microscopic plants that float near the surface of water, had begun to remodel the lake into an environment that could once again sustain larger life.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
