foraminifera
plural noun
fo·ra·mi·nif·era
fə-ˌra-mə-ˈni-f(ə-)rə 
ˌfȯr-ə-mə-ˈni-,
ˌfär-
: organisms that are foraminifers
Examples of foraminifera in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Many foraminifera found refuge in or near the Southern Ocean around Antarctica.
—
Tim Vernimmen, JSTOR Daily, 19 June 2025
Geologists already have historical climate data thanks to a proxy: tiny oceanic organisms known as foraminifera, which built shells of calcium carbonate, died, and sank to the seafloor to become rock.
—WIRED, 28 Sep. 2023
This three-mile stretch of soft, pink sand — which gets its color from seashells and microscopic organisms called foraminifera — is a place to go for total relaxation.
—Skye Sherman, Travel + Leisure, 13 June 2023
Goff and other researchers also look for microscopic marine organisms like diatoms and foraminifera, ancient DNA from marine life, changes to geochemistry, and, as in the Atacama, unexpected boulders.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2023
Scientists probed equatorial cold-tongue biases, and blamed the difficulty of predicting El Niño’s North American Januaries on Tibet, where large foraminifera were found to have been more vulnerable than small ones during the extinction pulses of the early Jurassic.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 27 Oct. 2020
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Tim Vernimmen, JSTOR Daily, 19 June 2025
Geologists already have historical climate data thanks to a proxy: tiny oceanic organisms known as foraminifera, which built shells of calcium carbonate, died, and sank to the seafloor to become rock.
—WIRED, 28 Sep. 2023
This three-mile stretch of soft, pink sand — which gets its color from seashells and microscopic organisms called foraminifera — is a place to go for total relaxation.
—Skye Sherman, Travel + Leisure, 13 June 2023
Goff and other researchers also look for microscopic marine organisms like diatoms and foraminifera, ancient DNA from marine life, changes to geochemistry, and, as in the Atacama, unexpected boulders.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2023
Scientists probed equatorial cold-tongue biases, and blamed the difficulty of predicting El Niño’s North American Januaries on Tibet, where large foraminifera were found to have been more vulnerable than small ones during the extinction pulses of the early Jurassic.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 27 Oct. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Foraminifera.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foraminifera. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
foraminifera
plural noun
fo·ra·mi·nif·era
fə-ˌram-ə-ˈnif-(ə-)rə
ˌfȯr-ə-mə-ˈnif-,
ˌfär-
: protozoans that are foraminifers
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