duckweed

American

[duhk-weed] / ˈdʌkˌwid /

noun

any plant of the family Lemnaceae, especially of the genus Lemna, comprising small aquatic plants that float free on still water.

duckweed British

/ ˈdʌkˌwiːd /

noun

any of various small stemless aquatic plants of the family Lemnaceae, esp any of the genus Lemna, that have rounded leaves and occur floating on still water in temperate regions

"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 duckweed

1400–50; late Middle English dockewede; so called because eaten by ducks

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.

See Examples For:

duckweed

Tia-Lynn Ashman and Martin Turcotte, evolutionary ecologists at the University of Pittsburgh, have also studied polyploidy in duckweed populations.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 23, 2023

As part of their environmental science class, high school juniors and seniors were building a natural filtration system to clear out duckweed, prevalent in the wetlands they are working to restore.

From Seattle Times ● May 12, 2023

Scientists have figured out how to coax copious amounts of oil from duckweed, one of nature’s fastest-growing aquatic plants.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 25, 2023

Scientists are hoping duckweed and slurry could help farmers "make money from muck".

From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2022

"But her hair turned as green as duckweed, and was always having to be colored up."

From Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. (Hans Christian) Andersen

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