subaquatic
Americanadjective
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living or growing partly on land, partly in water.
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under water.
adjective
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living or growing partly in water and partly on land
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of or relating to conditions, existence, or activities under water
Etymology
Origin of subaquatic
Explanation
A subaquatic creature lives or exists entirely under water. A squid cruising the ocean depths or a clam buried in the seabed both fit the bill. Subaquatic creatures like octopuses, jellyfish, and starfish spend their whole existence below the surface. The word often shows up in marine biology texts, but you might also see it describing things like subaquatic caves or plants. Subaquatic is derived from the Latin sub, "under," and aquatic, "relating to or operating in water."
Vocabulary lists containing subaquatic
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.
A group of tabletop vitrines in the show offers views of strange, sculpted, subaquatic splendor — luminous cast-glass mushrooms, sea anemones, bright ribbons of kelp.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2023
The accident unleashed a subaquatic fireball that appeared to boil the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and drew a hail of criticism from environmentalists.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 5, 2021
The larger story is the spread of greater Amazonia, the millions of square feet of new space that is the subaquatic iceberg floating under the Helix’s crystal tip.
From Washington Post • Feb. 17, 2021
For the subaquatic scenes, British cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, who has collaborated with Vinterberg several times, conjures a strange green underwater world.
From The Guardian • Jun. 24, 2019
Everything we’ve known is cold and subaquatic, no longer ours.
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
