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
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
Their lungs evolved from their swim bladder — the internal pool float that helps them hold to a certain depth.
From New York Times • Feb. 10, 2021
It is unlikely the swim bladder of fish would be on the list, but isinglass - a gelatine made using the organ - is in fact very likely to be in your average pint.
From BBC • Sep. 14, 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.
