SINCE 1828
phytoplankton
noun
phy·to·plank·ton
| \ ˌfī-tō-ˈplaŋ(k)-tən
, -ˌtän\
, -ˌtän\
Definition of phytoplankton
: planktonic plant life
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Other Words from phytoplankton
phytoplanktonic
\ ˌfī-tō-plaŋ(k)-ˈtä-nik
\
adjective
\
adjective
Examples of phytoplankton in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Most of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere was created over millions of years by microscopic ocean plants called phytoplankton. — NBC News, "Why is the Amazon rainforest important?," 9 Sep. 2019 Tiny phytoplankton in the ocean generate half of the oxygen produced on Earth. — The Conversation, oregonlive.com, "Amazon fires are alarming -- but, no, they won’t deplete Earth’s oxygen: The Conversation," 26 Aug. 2019 As the sea ice melts, ice algae and phytoplankton are released into the sea. — Arwa Damon, CNN, "Arctic melt: Threat beneath the ice," 8 June 2019 Iron is one of the key nutrients that tiny phytoplankton organisms in the ocean need to thrive. — Chelsea Harvey, Scientific American, "Humans May Be Accidentally Geoengineering the Oceans," 15 July 2019 Doing so could promote the growth of phytoplankton, which naturally suck up carbon dioxide. — Chelsea Harvey, Scientific American, "Humans May Be Accidentally Geoengineering the Oceans," 15 July 2019 They are caused by several different microorganisms, all phytoplankton that use light energy to grow. — Jenny Howard, National Geographic, "Red tides, explained," 5 July 2019 Risotto prepared with phytoplankton is a deep-green chlorophyll bomb. — Dominic Armato, azcentral, "The best restaurants in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley," 1 July 2019 At sea, phytoplankton are responsible for 50% of all photosynthesis, a process more popularly associated with plants that takes carbon dioxide out of the environment and releases it back as oxygen. — Zoë Schlanger, Quartz, "Climate change is threatening the microscopic creatures our lives depend on," 20 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'phytoplankton.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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