plankton

[ plangk-tuh n ]

/ ˈplæŋk tən /

noun

the aggregate of passively floating, drifting, or somewhat motile organisms occurring in a body of water, primarily comprising microscopic algae and protozoa.

Nearby words

plank, plank floor, plank-sheer, planking, plankter, plankton, planned, planned economy, planned obsolescence, planned parenthood, planner

Origin of plankton

1890–95; < German, special use of neuter of Greek planktós drifting, equivalent to plang-, variant stem of plázesthai to drift, roam, wander + -tos verbid suffix

Related forms

plank·ton·ic

[plangk-ton-ik] /plæŋkˈtɒn ɪk/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for plankton

Jellyfish eat the eggs and larvae of other species higher on the food chain, as well as the plankton that those larvae would eat.
Beware at the Beach, the Jellyfish Rule the Seas and It’s Our Fault|Lisa-ann Gershwin|June 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Plankton, those wily producers of every second breath of oxygen you breath, will be naked and vulnerable.
The Gulf's Bigger Oil Disaster|Alanna Mitchell|September 11, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The plankton (small floating animals) is distributed in the morning, other animals as required.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3|Various
Nine tenths of the species are marine; of these some are pelagic, and their transparent forms constitute a part of the plankton.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide|Augusta Foote Arnold

During the drift of the Endurance samples of plankton were taken almost daily during an Antarctic summer and winter.
South!|Sir Ernest Shackleton
He does not annihilate the realms of plankton, lying layer on layer in its deluging, consuming soil.
The Holy Earth|L. H. Bailey
So much for the surface population of the ocean—the plankton layer is regarded as a hundred fathoms thick.
Zoology: The Science of Animal Life|Ernest Ingersoll

British Dictionary definitions for plankton

plankton

/ (ˈplæŋktən) /

noun

the organisms inhabiting the surface layer of a sea or lake, consisting of small drifting plants and animals, such as diatomsCompare nekton

Derived Forms

planktonic (plæŋkˈtɒnɪk), adjective

Word Origin for plankton

C19: via German from Greek planktos wandering, from plazesthai to roam

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

Science definitions for plankton

plankton

[ plăngk′tən ]

Small organisms that float or drift in great numbers in bodies of salt or fresh water. Plankton is a primary food source for many animals, and consists of bacteria, protozoans, certain algae, cnidarians, tiny crustaceans such as copepods, and many other organisms. Compare benthos nekton.