water bear

American  

noun

Zoology.

1. a tardigrade.

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water bear British  

noun

1. another name for a tardigrade

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water bear Scientific  

1. See tardigrade

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Etymology

Origin of water bear

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

Spectrogram images of water bear this out with Rothko-like washes of color — no jagged peaks or intensely blurred lines but rather a soothing canvas.

From Washington Post

Do you know the creature called a water bear; a tardigrade?

From The Verge

They put the water bears into a humidity chamber and slowly dried them out, which resembled the type of conditions they might face in a pond or pool of water that is drying out.

From New York Times

Tardigrades — also known as "water bears" — are microscopic animals that can live through almost anything: 30 years in a freezer, rapid dehydration, boiling and freezing temperatures, massive doses...

From The Verge

Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are able to adapt to extreme environments because of a process called cryptobiosis.

From National Geographic