Word.ws English Dictionary

phytoplankton

UK/ˌfaɪ.təˈplæŋk.tən//ˌfaɪ.təˈplæŋk.tən/

phytoplankton noun: plankton, especially those small in size, that obtain energy by photosynthesis.

Noun

phytoplankton (countable and uncountable, plural phytoplanktons)

  1. Plankton, especially those small in size, that obtain energy by photosynthesis.
    Synonyms:
    microalga

phytoplankton meaning in Tamil and Telugu

phytoplankton in Tamil

அலைதாவரம், தாவர மிதவையினம், மிதவைத் தாவரம், மிதவைத் தாவர உயிரிகள், தாவரக் குற்றுயிர்கள்

phytoplankton in Telugu

plankton that obtain energy through photosynthesis
వృక్షప్లవకము vr̥kṣaplavakamu

Examples of phytoplankton in a sentence

  • When silica is in low supply other classes of algae dominate the phytoplankton composition.
  • Addition of iron to surface waters in these areas induces massive phytoplankton blooms dominated primarily by pennate diatoms.
  • Light is absorbed in water by four components: water itself, dissolved yellow substances (gelbstoff), phytoplankton, and tripton (inanimate particulate material).

All 10 example sentences with phytoplankton

Synonyms of phytoplankton

Forms of phytoplankton

pluralphytoplanktons

Origin of phytoplankton

From phyto- + plankton. From Ancient Greek φυτόν (phutón, “plant”) + πλαγκτόν (planktón), neuter of πλαγκτός (planktós, “wandering”). However, they are no longer classified as plants, so the terminology is showing a historical meaning.

Words formed from phytoplankton

Phrases with phytoplankton

Questions about phytoplankton

What does phytoplankton mean?
Phytoplankton means plankton, especially those small in size, that obtain energy by photosynthesis.
What is phytoplankton in Tamil?
Phytoplankton in Tamil is அலைதாவரம், தாவர மிதவையினம், மிதவைத் தாவரம். See Phytoplankton meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is phytoplankton?
Phytoplankton is a noun.
How do you pronounce phytoplankton?
Phytoplankton is pronounced /ˌfaɪ.təˈplæŋk.tən/ (UK).
What is the plural of phytoplankton?
The plural of phytoplankton is phytoplanktons.

Words near phytoplankton in the dictionary

  1. phytoplankter
  2. phytoplankters
  3. phytoplanktivore
  4. phytoplanktivorous
  5. phytoplanktivory
  6. phytoplankton
  7. phytoplankton bloom
  8. phytoplankton blooms
  9. phytoplanktonic
  10. phytoplanktons
  11. phytoplasm

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: phytoplankton (page history and authors); phytoplankton (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-phytoplankton.wav.

Cite this entry: “phytoplankton.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/phytoplankton. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.