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

See Examples For:

bladder bladders

It destroyed Carla's reproductive organs and was so extensive she was left needing bladder reconstruction surgery and a total hysterectomy.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

These days, Nolan is known for films with runtimes so long they test your bladder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Now, the same Nobel Prize winning technology is being adapted to fight cancer, with experimental mRNA vaccines already being tested against melanoma, small cell lung cancer, bladder cancer, and several other cancers.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

Geoffrey, who is receiving treatment for bladder cancer and has diabetes, says on some days he walks even further to attend hospital appointments.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

He couldn’t move, his bladder was going to burst, he couldn’t stop sneezing ... he sneezed again.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

U.S. bases and installations throughout the Indo-Pacific—such as in Japan, the Philippines and Guam—are in desperate need of hardened aircraft shelters, air defenses, reinforced munitions storage bunkers and fuel bladders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

We feel the pressure of sore backs and full bladders.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2025

In Germany emerged so-called "Herod games" in which people would reportedly stage mock attacks on churches and assail bystanders with inflated animal bladders to ridicule the cruel absurdity of the Judean king.

From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2024

These bladders create an internal vacuum and are closed by a special 'trap door'.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2024

Eunjoo was helping their brothers empty their bladders while Jinjoo pulled a chair over to open the window.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh