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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bladderless
  adjective
• bladderlike
  adjective
• bladdery
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bladders
  plural

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bladder bladders

These days, Nolan is known for films with runtimes so long they test your bladder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

These therapies have produced major benefits in several cancers, including liver, lung, kidney, and bladder cancers, as well as melanoma.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026

This large fish is targeted because its swim bladder commands high prices on international black markets.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2026

Other topics that will be discussed include bladder health, pelvic floor health, premature ovarian insufficiency and more.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

I lost control of my bladder and quickly soaked the cardboard, the newspapers and the blanket.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

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

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 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

Fish make sounds by clicking their teeth, blowing air, and drumming with special muscles against tuned inflated air bladders.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas