aquaculture
Americannoun
noun
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The science of cultivating marine or freshwater food fish, such as salmon and trout, or shellfish, such as oysters and clams, under controlled conditions.
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See hydroponics
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of aquaculture
First recorded in 1865–70; aqua- + (agri)culture
Explanation
The practice of raising fish or water plants for food is known as aquaculture. A shrimp farmer works in the aquaculture industry. The word aquaculture combines the Latin aqua-, "water," with culture, also from a Latin root, meaning "agriculture" or "a cultivating." Originally, this term referred only to fish farming. Today, you can also practice aquaculture by growing seaweed and algae, or raising shellfish like oysters and scallops. Today, aquaculture provides about half of all the fish and shellfish eaten by humans.
Vocabulary lists containing aquaculture
Elements of the Universe: Aqua ("Water")
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Earth Science - Middle School
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Natural Resources and the Environment - Middle School and High 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.
This region receives inputs from treated sewage, household wastewater, aquaculture operations, pig farming, and agricultural runoff.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 21, 2026
"We buy the glass eels, which we raise in these tanks," said Takayuki Hiranuma, president of a high-tech aquaculture farm that operates the restaurant.
From Barron's ● Nov. 21, 2025
But 44 of the meat, dairy and aquaculture businesses surveyed didn’t provide any such data, according to the report, with only 10 setting targets to reduce their exposure to water insecurity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2025
Areas used for aquaculture have since suffered chronic tidal flooding, leading to oversalinization, and land has been lost, the study said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2025
Hawaii was also unique within Polynesia in using mass labor for aquaculture, by constructing large fishponds in which milkfish and mullet were grown.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
