bladder

American  

[blad-er] / ˈblæd ər /

noun

bladders plural

1. Anatomy, Zoology.

   1. a membranous sac or organ serving as a receptacle for a fluid or air.

   2. urinary bladder.

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.

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bladder British  

/ ˈblædə /

noun

1. anatomy a distensible membranous sac, usually containing liquid or gas, esp the urinary bladder

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

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bladder Scientific  

/ blăd′ər /

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.

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bladder Cultural  

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bladderless
  adjective
• bladderlike
  adjective
• bladdery
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bladders
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bladder

before 900; Middle English; Old English blǣddre, blǣdre bladder, blister, pimple; cognate with Old Norse blāthra, dialectal Dutch bladder, German Blatter; akin to blow ²

Example Sentences

Bladder cancer also occurs much more frequently in men, who develop the disease about four times as often as women.

From Science Daily • Mar. 10, 2026

Bladder, toothed and spiral wracks often have notably higher antioxidant contents than many other seaweeds.

From Salon • Aug. 5, 2024

Bladder, kidney and prostate cancer are among the 10 most prevalent types of the disease in England, and generally affect men more than women.

From BBC • Dec. 5, 2023

Bladder leakage can interfere with your well-being, and people — especially women — are more likely to experience it with age.

From Washington Post • Sep. 19, 2022

The celebration of the Bladder Feast was many colors—black, blue, purple, fire-red; but Kapugen s hand around hers was rose-colored and that was the color of her memory of the Feast.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George