hydrozoan
noun
hy·dro·zo·an
ˌhī-drə-ˈzō-ən 
: any of a class (Hydrozoa) of cnidarians (such as the hydra, fire coral, and Portuguese man-of-war) that includes solitary and colonial polyps and medusae but often having the medusa stage reduced or absent and lacking nematocysts in the digestive cavity see siphonophore
hydrozoan
adjective
Examples of hydrozoan in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The colorful and translucent hydrozoans often wash up on local beaches during the summer.
—
Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 May 2025
Nearly seven years later, Sugimoto, Collins, and Dr. Takato Izumi of Fukuyama University have confirmed that Sugimoto’s specimens were a new species of hydrozoan, an animal closely related to jellyfish, according to a Feb. 28 study published in the journal Plankton and Benthos Research.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2025
Ethereal white sponge gardens that were thousands of feet long, flying spaghetti monsters (a type of colonial hydrozoan), casper octopuses, thousand-year-old glass sponges and towering forests of bamboo corals made up just a few of the life forms found here.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024
From salamanders to starfish to the actual hydra (a tiny hydrozoan named for the fearsome beast of legend), animals that are capable of regeneration all start the repair process by forming a blastema.
—Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 3 Jan. 2024
Such hydrozoans form a subgroup of Cnidaria, a phylum whose members also include jellyfish and coral.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 3 May 2023
The Portuguese man o’ war, or Physalia physalis, is a hydrozoan animal named for its likeness to the Portuguese man of war ships.
—Anjali Huynh, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Aug. 2022
Many living things, including strawberries, orchids and some jellyfish cousins called hydrozoans, propagate this way today.
—Cara Giaimo, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2020
How exactly would the cage keep out a fish that's less than a foot long?), the two spotted their first animal—a hydrozoan.
—Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 16 Aug. 2014
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Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 May 2025
Nearly seven years later, Sugimoto, Collins, and Dr. Takato Izumi of Fukuyama University have confirmed that Sugimoto’s specimens were a new species of hydrozoan, an animal closely related to jellyfish, according to a Feb. 28 study published in the journal Plankton and Benthos Research.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2025
Ethereal white sponge gardens that were thousands of feet long, flying spaghetti monsters (a type of colonial hydrozoan), casper octopuses, thousand-year-old glass sponges and towering forests of bamboo corals made up just a few of the life forms found here.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024
From salamanders to starfish to the actual hydra (a tiny hydrozoan named for the fearsome beast of legend), animals that are capable of regeneration all start the repair process by forming a blastema.
—Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 3 Jan. 2024
Such hydrozoans form a subgroup of Cnidaria, a phylum whose members also include jellyfish and coral.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 3 May 2023
The Portuguese man o’ war, or Physalia physalis, is a hydrozoan animal named for its likeness to the Portuguese man of war ships.
—Anjali Huynh, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Aug. 2022
Many living things, including strawberries, orchids and some jellyfish cousins called hydrozoans, propagate this way today.
—Cara Giaimo, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2020
How exactly would the cage keep out a fish that's less than a foot long?), the two spotted their first animal—a hydrozoan.
—Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 16 Aug. 2014
Cite this Entry
“Hydrozoan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hydrozoan. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hydrozoan
noun
hy·dro·zo·an
ˌhī-drə-ˈzō-ən
: any of a class of coelenterates including the jellyfishes and single or colonial polyps (as hydras or corals)
hydrozoan
adjective
Medical Definition
hydrozoan
noun
hy·dro·zo·an
-ˈzō-ən
: any of the class Hydrozoa of coelenterates
hydrozoan
adjective
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