aquarium

aquar·i·um

noun \ə-ˈkwer-ē-əm\

: a glass or plastic container in which fish and other water animals and plants can live

: a building people can visit to see water animals and plants

plural aquar·i·ums or -ia \-ē-ə\

Full Definition of AQUARIUM

1

:  a container (as a glass tank) or an artificial pond in which living aquatic animals or plants are kept

2

:  an establishment where aquatic organisms are kept and exhibited

Origin of AQUARIUM

probably alteration of aquatic vivarium

First Known Use: circa 1847

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

apiary, bantam, calico, girth, hogwash, mast, rut

Rhymes with AQUARIUM

herbarium, puparium, sacrarium, samarium, solarium, terrarium, velarium, vivarium

aquarium

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Receptacle for maintaining aquatic organisms, either freshwater or marine, or a facility in which a collection of aquatic organisms is displayed or studied. The first display aquarium opened in Regent's Park, England, in 1853. Many of the world's principal cities now have public aquariums as well as commercial ones; other aquarium facilities serve chiefly as research institutions. Regardless of size—whether a small one-gallon jar or a huge million-gallon tank—aquariums must be constructed with care; many substances, especially plastics and adhesives, that are nontoxic to humans are toxic to water-breathing animals. The primary requirement for maintaining aquatic organisms is water quality.