aquarium

American  

[uh-kwair-ee-uhm] / əˈkwɛər i əm /

noun

• aquariums,
  plural
• aquaria
  plural

1. 

   a glass-sided tank, bowl, or the like, in which fish or other living aquatic animals or plants are kept.

2. a building or institution in which fish or other aquatic animals or plants are kept for exhibit, study, etc.

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aquarium British  

/ əˈkwɛərɪəm /

noun

1. a tank, bowl, or pool in which aquatic animals and plants are kept for pleasure, study, or exhibition

2. a building housing a collection of aquatic life, as for exhibition

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• aquarial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• aquaria
  plural
• aquariums
  plural

Etymology

Origin of aquarium

1840–50; blend of Latin aquārius of or for water ( aqu ( a ) water + -ārius -ary ) and vivarium; cf. -arium

Explanation

Aquarium can either describe a small tank, or an entire building that houses fish and other aquatic life. Your goldfish will probably feel right at home in the aquarium that's sitting on your desk, but a whale would be better off in a big aquarium where people buy tickets to see marine life. An aquarium can be small enough to fit in the average house, or big enough to house whales and accommodate millions of tourists each year. If you're talking about more than one of those tanks filled with fish and other marine life, you could say aquariums, but aquaria, from the original Latin term, is also an acceptable plural.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aquarium aquaria aquariums

The property sprawls across 20,000 square feet and boasts a media room, a 14,000-gallon aquarium, and several other lavish amenities.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

The animals, including marine fish, invertebrates and sharks, arrived at the aquarium on June 19, but the aquarium didn’t announce the news until Thursday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Headlines about the visitors began on their arrival at Perth airport and, during their stay in Western Australia, they were followed to golf courses and even on a trip to an aquarium.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

"It's not common for us to see them," said Lesser, the aquarium guide.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

Her eyes were no longer red, but a calm blue like a deep aquarium.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

To answer that question, genetically modified sea anemones were moved from laboratory aquaria into outdoor marine mesocosms supplied with natural estuarine water in South Carolina.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 30, 2026

Herbert reached out to the Lepas expert Anne Marie Power at the University of Galway in Ireland, who signed on to raise live L. anatifera in aquaria to establish shell chemistry for different temperatures.

From National Geographic ● Aug. 23, 2023

We distributed many of them to other aquaria to raise awareness about this species.

From Slate ● Dec. 10, 2022

Other researchers caution that the new study only shows isopods can pollinate algae in laboratory aquaria; it’s not yet known whether they are efficient at this in nature.

From Science Magazine ● Jul. 27, 2022

She loves to be among the living creatures, whether on the reefs or in her aquaria.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

They are still my favorite fish to observe in aquariums or the ocean.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026

At intervals of 20 years and sometimes more often, it has lashed and splashed us, turned our living rooms into muddy aquariums, swept away our cars and houses, and sometimes hundreds of Angelenos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

At this rainforest-like indoor farm, where creatures such as coral, tropical fish and sea cucumbers inhabit different aquariums, Kinjo bred "miracle coral" with extra resistance to warmer water.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Plus, wealthy homeowners go all in on splashy home aquariums and a former Starbucks CEO packs it up for South Florida.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026

Kate led them into an even larger chamber, lined with more aquariums.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan