water flea

noun

: any of various small active dark or brightly colored aquatic crustaceans (such as a daphnia or cyclops)

Examples of water flea in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In 2019, the biologists finally arrived at the optimal formula of mysid shrimp, water fleas and blood worms. —

Alexander Nazaryan, New York Times, 9 May 2024 Birdseed and the plants that attract songbirds aren’t a big draw for waterfowl, as most prefer beetles, snails, water fleas and other insects found on the edges of lakes and ponds. —

Renee Elder, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024 To test for some of the potential adverse effects of these plastics, the researchers exposed a model organism called a water flea, or Daphnia, to different concentrations of the microplastics leached from the tea bags. —

Anna Funk, Discover Magazine, 26 Sep. 2019 Not bad for a water flea. —

Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 4 Feb. 2011 See all Example Sentences for water flea

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