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bladder

[ blad-er ]
/ ˈblæd ər /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bladder ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Anatomy, Zoology.
  1. a membranous sac or organ serving as a receptacle for a fluid or air.
  2. urinary bladder.
Pathology. a vesicle, blister, cyst, etc., filled with fluid or air.
Botany. an air-filled sac or float, as in certain seaweeds.
something resembling a bladder, as the inflatable lining of a football or basketball.
an air-filled sac, usually made to resemble a club, used for beatings in low comedy, vaudeville, or the like.

RELATED WORDS

sac, pocket, vesicle, blister, bag, inflate

Nearby words

  1. blackwells island,
  2. blackwood,
  3. blackwork,
  4. blacky,
  5. blad,
  6. bladder campion,
  7. bladder fern,
  8. bladder kelp,
  9. bladder ketmia,
  10. bladder senna

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 blow2
Related formsblad·der·less, adjectiveblad·der·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bladder

British Dictionary definitions for bladder

bladder

/ (ˈblædə) /

noun

anatomy a distensible membranous sac, usually containing liquid or gas, esp the urinary bladderRelated adjective: vesical
an inflatable part of something
a blister, cyst, vesicle, etc, usually filled with fluid
a hollow vesicular or saclike part or organ in certain plants, such as the bladderwort or bladderwrack
Derived Formsbladdery, adjective

Word Origin for bladder

Old English blǣdre
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
Word Origin and History for bladder

bladder

n.

Old English blædre (West Saxon), bledre (Anglian) "(urinary) bladder," also "blister, pimple," from Proto-Germanic *blaedron (cf. Old Norse blaðra, Old Saxon bladara, Old High German blattara, German Blatter, Dutch blaar), from PIE *bhle- "to blow" (see blast). Extended senses from early 13c. from animal bladders used for buoyancy, storage, etc.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for bladder

bladder

[ blăd′ər ]

n.

Any of various distensible membranous sacs, such as the urinary bladder, that serve as receptacles for fluid or gas.
A blister, pustule, or cyst filled with fluid or air; vesicle.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for bladder

bladder

[ blăd′ər ]

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.
An air bladder.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Culture definitions for bladder

bladder

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.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.