sea fan

American

noun

any of certain anthozoans, especially Gorgonia flabellum, of the West Indies, in which the colony assumes a fanlike form.

sea fan British

noun

any of various corals of the genus Gorgonia and related genera, having a treelike or fan-shaped horny skeleton: order Gorgonacea (gorgonians)

"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 sea fan

First recorded in 1625–35

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.

Ancestors of modern octocorals, a group that includes soft corals and sea fans, evolved bioluminescence at least 540 million years ago, roughly double the previous estimate of this trait’s age, researchers report.

From Science Magazine

Witman pointed to heat waves in the Mediterranean that have led to an increase in coral bleaching and death of corals and sea fans.

From Science Daily

Bright sunlight filtered through the turquoise water, and a sea fan swayed in the current.

From Washington Post

It has the brain's most glorious neurons, called Purkinje cells, which possess tendrils that spread like a sea fan coral and harbor complex electrical dynamics.

From Scientific American

The massive wreck proved to be a snorkeling wonderland, sheltering a profusion of colorful corals, sea fans and fish.

From Seattle Times

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