ALGAE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does algae mean? 

• ALGAE (noun)
  The noun ALGAE has 1 sense:

1. primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves

  Familiarity information: ALGAE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ALGAE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

alga; algae

Hypernyms ("algae" is a kind of...):

protoctist (any of the unicellular protists)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "algae"):

seaweed (plant growing in the sea, especially marine algae)

golden algae (algae having the pigments chlorophyll and carotene and xanthophyll)

yellow-green algae (any alga of the division Chrysophyta with its chlorophyll masked by yellow pigment)

diatom (microscopic unicellular marine or freshwater colonial alga having cell walls impregnated with silica)

confervoid algae (algae resembling confervae especially in having branching filaments)

brown algae (algae having the chlorophyll masked by brown and yellow pigments)

euglenid; euglenoid; euglenophyte (marine and freshwater green or colorless flagellate organism)

chlorophyte; green algae (algae that are clear green in color; often growing on wet ricks or damp wood or the surface of stagnant water)

chlorella (any alga of the genus Chlorella)

red algae (marine algae in which the chlorophyll is masked by a red or purplish pigment; source of agar and carrageenan)

cryptomonad; cryptophyte (common in fresh and salt water appearing along the shore as algal blooms)

 Context examples 

These nutrients stimulate an overgrowth of algae that sinks, decomposes, and consumes the oxygen needed to support life in the Gulf.

(2015 Gulf of Mexico dead zone ‘above average’, NOAA)

The team of researchers not only improved on the amount of energy produced and stored, they managed to reactivate a process in the algae that has been dormant for millennia.

(Scientists pioneer a new way to turn sunlight into fuel, University of Cambridge)

Unexpectedly, the researchers discovered genetic sequences from Acanthocystis turfacea chlorella virus 1 (ATCV-1), a type of Chlorovirus, which infects green algae.

(Algal Virus Infects, Affects Humans, NIH)

Fertilizer washed away by rain winds up in streams, rivers, bays and lakes, feeding algae that can grow out of control, blocking sunlight and killing plant and animal life below.

(Bacteria Used to Create Fertilizer Out of Thin Air, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

An environmental stress indicator for coral; if conditions for corals are not optimum, the corals will expel the algae that live among the living polyps, therefore giving the colony a bleached appearance.

(Coral bleaching, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)

The science that deals with the study of microorganisms, including algae, archaea, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses.

(Microbiology, NCI Thesaurus)

This term is to be used for the macro-algae, Embryophytes (mosses), and Tracheophytes (angiosperms, gymnosperms, etc.)

(Plant Genetics, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)

Occurs in plants, algae, cyanobacteria and lichens.

(Photosynthesis, NCI Thesaurus)

A chemical process that occurs in plants, algae, and some types of bacteria, when they are exposed to sunlight.

(Photosynthesis, NCI Dictionary)

Microorganisms include bacteria, protozoa, algae, and fungi.

(Microorganism, NCI Dictionary)