bladderwort

American

[blad-er-wurt, -wawrt] / ˌblæd ərˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt /

noun

any of various plants of the genus Utricularia, including aquatic, terrestrial, and epiphytic forms throughout the world.

bladderwort British

/ ˈblædəˌwɜːt /

noun

any aquatic plant of the genus Utricularia , some of whose leaves are modified as small bladders to trap minute aquatic animals: family Lentibulariaceae

"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

Etymology

Origin of bladderwort

First recorded in 1805–15; bladder + wort ²

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.

Utricularia vulgaris, also known as a bladderwort, is a carnivorous plant that traps its prey using specialized hollow, water filled trap bladders.

From Science Daily • Nov. 20, 2024

But this combination of beauty and death isn’t what makes the bladderwort special.

From Slate • Oct. 3, 2013

Take the humped bladderwort, a humble aquatic plant whose DNA was sequenced this past May.

From Slate • Oct. 3, 2013

Two other polyploid plants made waves last week: the carnivorous bladderwort and the sacred lotus.

From Scientific American • May 19, 2013

As in the case of its cousinry a-land, the bladderwort at its leisure dines upon its prey.

From Little Masterpieces of Science: The Naturalist as Interpreter and Seer by Iles, George

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023