bladder

American  

[blad-er] / ˈblæd ər /

noun

• bladders
  plural

1. Anatomy, Zoology.

   1. a membranous sac or organ serving as a receptacle for a fluid or air.

   2. urinary bladder.

2. Pathology. a vesicle, blister, cyst, etc., filled with fluid or air.

3. Botany. an air-filled sac or float, as in certain seaweeds.

4. something resembling a bladder, as the inflatable lining of a football or basketball.

5. an air-filled sac, usually made to resemble a club, used for beatings in low comedy, vaudeville, or the like.

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bladder British  

/ ˈblædə /

noun

1. anatomy a distensible membranous sac, usually containing liquid or gas, esp the urinary bladder

2. an inflatable part of something

3. a blister, cyst, vesicle, etc, usually filled with fluid

4. a hollow vesicular or saclike part or organ in certain plants, such as the bladderwort or bladderwrack

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bladder Scientific  

/ blăd′ər /

1. 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.

2. An air bladder.

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bladder Cultural  

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bladderless
  adjective
• bladderlike
  adjective
• bladdery
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bladders
  plural

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Etymology

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 blow ²

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bladder bladders

Yet as it was left untreated for so long, it progressed into frozen pelvis disease and destroyed her reproductive organs, leaving her needing bladder reconstruction and a total hysterectomy.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

Because mutations are common across cancers, investors hope the approach will prove to be a platform that works for many of them, from lung to kidney to bladder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

That includes renal-cell carcinoma, bladder cancer and non-small-cell lung cancer.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

It can cause cognitive issues, difficulty walking and the loss of bladder control.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

But Benny-boy had a short memory, and after he had relieved his swollen bladder, he went out to play with his friends.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Before blood pressure was measured, participants emptied their bladders and walked for two minutes to simulate the typical experience of walking into a clinic or medical office before a screening.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

U.S. bases and installations throughout the Indo-Pacific—such as in Japan, the Philippines and Guam—are in desperate need of hardened aircraft shelters, air defenses, reinforced munitions storage bunkers and fuel bladders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

In Germany emerged so-called "Herod games" in which people would reportedly stage mock attacks on churches and assail bystanders with inflated animal bladders to ridicule the cruel absurdity of the Judean king.

From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2024

But this artistic rationale is being pushed to its limits - with audience bladders left bursting as directors are empowered like never before.

From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2024

Dancers danced; musicians played queer tunes with bells and squeaks and bladders; singers sang ancient love songs in the incomprehensible tongue of Old Ghis.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

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