swim bladder
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of swim bladder
First recorded in 1830–40
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.
Otophysan fish improved this pathway by adding small bony "ossicles" that connect the air bladder, often mistakenly called the swim bladder, to the inner ear.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2025
They found that the fish, Danionella cerebrum, drums out a powerful rhythm on an organ called a swim bladder.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2024
The vaquitas are caught and drown in illegal gill nets set for Totoaba, a Gulf fish whose swim bladder is considered a prized delicacy in China, worth thousands of dollars per pound.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 30, 2023
Each flake of ancient paint was treated with a tiny drop of isinglass, a natural collagen obtained from the swim bladder of a sturgeon, which was applied, heated and pressed down to match the surface.
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2016
On the line of the ancestry of most modern fishes its duct was closed and it became the swim bladder used in flotation and balancing.
From The Elements of Geology by Norton, William Harmon
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.
