alga

noun

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al·ga | \ ˈal-gə

plural algae\ ˈal-(ˌ)jē

\ also algas

Definition of alga

: a plant or plantlike organism of any of several phyla, divisions, or classes of chiefly aquatic usually chlorophyll-containing nonvascular organisms of polyphyletic origin that usually include the green, yellow-green, brown, and red algae in the eukaryotes and especially formerly the cyanobacteria in the prokaryotes

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Examples of alga in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Once the water temperature returns to normal, any polyps that haven’t starved to death will host another alga. — Erik Stokstad, Science | AAAS, "In surprising sign of resilience, some corals can survive long heat waves," 8 Dec. 2020 The melt increases the water in the area of the alga. — Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, "An Anchorage woman noticed red snow in her backyard. Here’s a possible cause.," 19 Nov. 2020 However, Biagio Di Mauro, a researcher at the Institute of Polar Sciences in Italy’s National Research Council tweeted that the pink snow was probably the result of Chlamydomonas nivalis, which is a snow alga. — Fox News, "Why has pink snow appeared in the Alps?," 7 July 2020 Near the back, leaning on the vase, is an alga from an herbarium of strange, incredible shapes, which could have been invented by Max Ernst. — Louis Benech, WSJ, "The Treasures of France’s Most Revered Gardener," 28 Mar. 2020 And seaweed is really just an extremely large alga—in fact, seaweeds are also called macroalgae. — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, "Seaweed: The New Ethanol?," 16 Mar. 2020 The alga was discovered in Little Muskego Lake in 2014 and has since also been identified in Big Muskego Lake. — Evan Frank, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "An invasive species called starry stonewort has spread to Lake Country waters," 16 Sep. 2019 In Florida and Texas, red tides are caused by an alga called Karenia brevis. — Tom Metcalfe, NBC News, "What is red tide?," 13 July 2019 Studies of Volvox, an alga that forms beautiful, flagellated green balls, shows that multicellular organisms also found new ways to use existing functions. — Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | AAAS, "The momentous transition to multicellular life may not have been so hard after all," 28 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'alga.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

14 Dec 2020

Cite this Entry

“Alga.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alga. Accessed 24 Jan. 2021.

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More Definitions for alga

alga

noun

al·ga | \ ˈal-gə

plural algae\ ˈal-ˌjē \

Kids Definition of alga

: any of a large group of simple plants and plant-like organisms (as a seaweed) that usually grow in water and produce chlorophyll like plants but do not produce seeds

alga

noun

al·ga | \ ˈal-gə

plural algae\ ˈal-(ˌ)jē

\ also algas