sea nettle

noun

: a stinging jellyfish
especially : one (Chrysaora quinquecirrha) occurring especially in Atlantic estuaries from Cape Cod to the West Indies

Examples of sea nettle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Box jellyfish, Portuguese man-of-war, lion’s mane and sea nettle are among highly venomous jellyfish species whose stings require immediate medical attention, per UF Health. Caroline C. Boyle, USA TODAY, 8 July 2024 Taken together, the data illustrates, in cinematic detail, a day in the life of a whale: its every breath and every dive, its traverses through fields of sea nettles and jellyfish, its encounters with twirling sea lions. Camille Bromley, WIRED, 29 Aug. 2023 This visitor is checking out a Pacific sea nettle jellyfish. Jacob Linden, Redbook, 17 Aug. 2023 Passengers and crew aboard a Monterey Bay Whale Watch vessel watched as two of the orca siblings carried what might have been the same sea nettle at different times in the bay. Pete Thomas, USA TODAY, 8 Dec. 2021 Tory Kallman captured footage of the oldest sibling (CA202A) swimming behind a GoPro camera with the sea nettle dangling from his chin. Pete Thomas, USA TODAY, 8 Dec. 2021 The stinging sea nettles that had been sucked into the plant and killed by heated water are now thriving and multiplying. Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2019 The cameras documented over 200 instances of jellyfish consumption, including painful sea nettles (Chrysaora plocamia) and Cyanea. National Geographic, 15 Sep. 2017 In Asia, researchers just proved that eDNA can also be employed to study jellyfish like the Japanese sea nettle. Jason Bittel, Smithsonian, 25 Apr. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sea nettle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sea nettle was in 1601

Dictionary Entries Near sea nettle

Cite this Entry

“Sea nettle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sea%20nettle. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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