free-swimming

American  

[free-swim-ing] / ˈfriˈswɪm ɪŋ /

adjective

Zoology.

1. (of aquatic organisms) not attached to a base nor joined in a colony; capable of swimming about freely.

---

free-swimming British  

adjective

1. (of aquatic animals or larvae) not sessile or attached to any object and therefore able to swim freely in the water

---

Other Word Forms

• free-swimmer noun

Etymology

Origin of free-swimming

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

“Observations of free-swimming newborn white sharks are extremely rare,” says Tobey Curtis, a shark scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who was not involved in the research.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 29, 2024

Currently, the researchers are refining their imaging techniques and experimental platform for a follow-up study to examine free-swimming sperm under similar conditions.

From Science Daily • Nov. 1, 2023

Living throughout the world’s temperate and tropical seas, stalked barnacles begin life as free-swimming larvae that ride ocean currents until they settle, often en masse, on driftwood, a ship’s hull, or other floating objects.

From National Geographic • Aug. 23, 2023

“Instead we relied on a spotter plane to find free-swimming sharks and radioed their locations to a research vessel,” the Aleutian Dream.

From Scientific American • Jul. 2, 2023

The body is small, globular or oval and either free-swimming or fastened by one of the two flagella.

From Marine Protozoa from Woods Hole Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 21:415-468, 1901 by Calkins, Gary N. (Gary Nathan)