sea anemone

American  

noun

1. any sedentary marine animal of the phylum Coelenterata, having a columnar body and one or more circles of tentacles surrounding the mouth.

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sea anemone British  

noun

1. any of various anthozoan coelenterates, esp of the order Actiniaria, having a polypoid body with oral rings of tentacles See also actinia

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sea anemone Scientific  

1. Any of numerous, often brightly colored cnidarians of the class Anthozoa, having flexible cylindrical bodies with tentacles surrounding a central mouth. Sea anemones are related to jellyfish and corals, but have no free-swimming (medusoid) stage, and resemble flowers.

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Etymology

Origin of sea anemone

First recorded in 1735–45

Example Sentences

An abundant deposit of sea anemone fossils had been hidden in plain sight—until now.

From Science Magazine

Just an auteur singing her songs, dancing like a sea anemone in the darkness of the ocean floor.

From Washington Post

It showed critters, especially sea anemones, swimming under the ice.

From Seattle Times

A two-foot-long grouper glided past; brightly colored reef fish darted in and out of sea anemone; an enormous school of silvery minnows burst toward me and then split apart, right before touching me.

From New York Times

But it also appears organic, evoking a roundabout hedge or a massive sea anemone.

From Washington Post