air bladder

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR air bladder ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a vesicle or sac containing air.

Also called gas bladder, swim bladder. Ichthyology. a gas-filled sac located against the roof of the body cavity of most bony fishes, originally functioning only as a lung, now serving in many higher fishes to regulate hydrostatic pressure.

Nearby words

air ball, air base, air battery, air bed, air bell, air bladder, air blast, air brake, air brick, air bridge, air cargo

Origin of air bladder

First recorded in 1725–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for air bladder

In a few primitive fishes (Dipnoans, Crossopterygians, Ganoids) the air-bladder retains its original function of a lung.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan
In attempting to answer this question we must first consider the air-bladder in relation to the fish tribe as a whole.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan
The air-bladder large and strong, and in some cases notched on the margin.
The Ocean World:|Louis Figuier
Showing nuptial tubercles and intestines coiled about the air-bladder.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan

The air-bladder resembles the lungs of terrestrial vertebrates.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan

British Dictionary definitions for air bladder

air bladder

noun

Also called: swim bladder ichthyol an air-filled sac, lying above the alimentary canal in bony fishes, that regulates buoyancy at different depths by a variation in the pressure of the air

any air-filled sac, such as one of the bladders of seaweeds

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Science definitions for air bladder

air bladder

An air-filled sac in many fish that helps maintain buoyancy or, in some species, helps in respiration, sound production, or hearing. Also called swim bladder

See float.