Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

benthos

noun
ben·​thos | \ ˈben-ˌthäs \

Definition of benthos

: organisms that live on or in the bottom of a body of water

First Known Use of benthos

1891, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for benthos

New Latin, from Greek, depth, deep sea; akin to Greek bathys deep

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about benthos

Statistics for benthos

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for benthos

The first known use of benthos was in 1891

See more words from the same year

More from Merriam-Webster on benthos

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with benthos

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about benthos

Comments on benthos

What made you want to look up benthos? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

teetotaler

someone who never drinks alcohol

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Homophone Quiz

  • three-bears-two-of-them-look-like-theyre-whispering-to-a-third-bear-who-looks-chuffed-to-be-the-center-of-attention
  • In order to judge how people felt, the senator's office hired a firm to take a ______.
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games