water bear

noun

Zoology.

1. a tardigrade.

water bear

noun

1. another name for a tardigrade

water bear

1. See tardigrade

Word History and Origins

Origin of water bear¹

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

Researchers David Sloan, Rafael Alves Batista, and Avi Loeb considered the various things that could cause such a calamity in reference to the impact that could be expected upon the tardigrade, a particularly hardy, bizarrely cute micro-animal also known as a water bear.

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It’s unlikely that there’s anything we puny humans can do that would have the impact of these extremely extreme events, which, as Sloan, Batista and Loeb concluded, were unlikely to finish off the water bear anytime soon.

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Dr. Diane R. Nelson, a professor emerita of biology at East Tennessee State University who also was not involved in the study, said this research is "significant" because it provides this useful context in understanding water bear origins despite the intrinsic logistical difficulties involved in acquiring relevant raw data.

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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.

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"Hold up....First of all, I ain't no ugly thing. Just so we clear. But I'm that. A water bear."

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