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zo·oid | \ ˈzō-ˌȯid 
\
\Definition of zooid
: one of the asexually produced individuals of a compound organism (such as a bryozoan, siphonophore, or coral colony)
Examples of zooid in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Each siphonophore is a colony of individual zooids, clusters of cells that clone themselves thousands of times to produce an extended, stringlike body.
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Devi Lockwood, New York Times, "This Might Be the Longest Creature Ever Seen in the Ocean," 14 Apr. 2020 The creatures, made up of individual zooids -- small, multicellular organisms -- normally reside in warmer waters, like the tropics, and usually don't travel farther north than the waters off southern California.
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Ted Sickinger, OregonLive.com, "Police looking for shooter after one injured in Keizer," 22 Apr. 2018 Inside the wall of this gelatinous tube, which can get up to 60 cm, individual zooids are tightly packed together.
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The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, "Strange 'sea pickles' keep washing ashore in the Pacific Northwest -- and scientists are baffled," 29 June 2017 These zooids have an incurrent and excurrent siphon and use cilia to pump water for feeding, respiration and movement.
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The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, "Strange 'sea pickles' keep washing ashore in the Pacific Northwest -- and scientists are baffled," 29 June 2017 In fact, these giants, called pyrosomes, are actually made up of thousands of much smaller creatures called zooids.
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National Geographic, "Sea Sapphires and 5 Other Shiny Ocean Creatures," 29 Mar. 2017
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'zooid.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for zooid
zooid
nounzo·oid | \ ˈzō-ˌȯid \
\Medical Definition of zooid
: one of the asexually produced individuals of a compound organism (as a coral colony)
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Time Traveler for zooid
The first known use of zooid was in 1851
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