seaweed

[ see-weed ]
See synonyms for seaweed on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any plant or plants growing in the ocean.

  2. a marine alga.

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Origin of seaweed

1
First recorded in 1570–80; sea + weed1

Words Nearby seaweed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use seaweed in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for seaweed

seaweed

/ (ˈsiːˌwiːd) /


noun
  1. any of numerous multicellular marine algae that grow on the seashore, in salt marshes, in brackish water, or submerged in the ocean

  2. any of certain other plants that grow in or close to the sea

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

Scientific definitions for seaweed

seaweed

[ wēd′ ]


  1. Any of various red, green, or brown algae that live in ocean waters. Some species of seaweed are free-floating, while others are attached to the ocean bottom. Seaweed range from the size of a pinhead to having large fronds (such as those of many kelps) that can be as much as 30.5 m (100 ft) in length. Certain species are used for food (such as nori) and fertilizer, and others are harvested for carrageenan and other substances used as thickening, stabilizing, emulsifying, or suspending agents in industrial, pharmaceutical, and food products. Seaweed is also a natural source of the element iodine, which is otherwise found only in very small amounts. See more at brown alga green alga red alga.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.