aquarium

noun

aquar·​i·​um ə-ˈkwer-ē-əm 

plural aquariums or aquaria ə-ˈkwer-ē-ə 

1

: a container (such 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

Examples of aquarium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The chick hatched July 17, a few weeks after the birth of another penguin, the aquarium said, to parents Nipper and Pebbles, also the pair’s second child. — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026

Yana Yanovsky came up with the idea for the jellyfish museum after noticing how popular the jellyfish were at their other aquariums. — CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026

Adapted from Shelby Van Pelt’s bestselling novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures stars Field as Tova Sullivan, a 70-year-old widow meticulously dedicated to her cleaning job at the Sowell Bay aquarium. — Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 18 Aug. 2026

Ottawa later approved a deal with a consortium of American and Spanish aquariums to orchestrate the moves now underway. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 14 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

probably alteration of aquatic vivarium

First Known Use

circa 1847, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing aquarium

• tropical aquarium

Rhymes for aquarium

• cerium
• armamentarium
• herbarium
• ovarium
• puparium
• samarium
• solarium
• zoarium
• honorarium
• planetarium
• sanitarium

Kids Definition

aquarium

noun

aquar·​i·​um ə-ˈkwar-ē-əm 

-ˈkwer-

plural aquariums or aquaria

-ē-ə

: a container (as a glass tank) in which living water animals or plants are kept

also : an establishment where collections of such animals or plants are kept and shown