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

The museum was founded by Ukrainian aquarium developers.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

“Keep your hands flat,” said the aquarium worker to no one in particular—which was fine, because nobody was listening to him anyway.

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin

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

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

Most home marine aquaria house coral reef species that are wild-caught organisms—not cultured organisms.

From Textbooks ● Sep. 6, 2018

The anemones in the aquaria blossomed open, with green and purple tentacles and pale green stomachs.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck

Described by SeaWorld as “an unprecedented international whale rescue effort,” the goal is to safely relocate the animals to suitable facilities, including aquariums and marine parks as far away as Atlanta and Valencia, Spain.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 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

Wealthy homeowners are spending big to install and maintain aquariums that look like living, three-dimensional art pieces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026

Our investigation looked at 129 zoos and aquariums accredited by Biaza, which were made up of a mix of privately-owned companies and charities.

From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026

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

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan