Meaning & use
aquarium
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Meanings
nouncountable
A glass tank where fish or other water animals and plants are kept.
Grammar: Countable: a fish aquarium; the plural is aquariums or aquaria.
Patterns
- an aquarium of something
- in an aquarium
We bought a small aquarium for the goldfish.
The aquarium in the dentist's waiting room calms nervous children.
He cleans the aquarium every Sunday.
nouncountable
A public building where many kinds of water animals are shown to visitors.
Grammar: Often capitalized in a name: the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Patterns
- visit an aquarium
- go to the aquarium
The school trip to the aquarium was the highlight of the term.
The aquarium has a tunnel that lets you walk under sharks.
They watched the otters being fed at the aquarium.
Word forms
| plural | aquariums |
|---|---|
| plural | aquaria |
Common combinations
- visit an aquarium
- We plan to visit an aquarium on Saturday.
- freshwater aquarium
- A freshwater aquarium is easier for beginners.
- saltwater aquarium
- A saltwater aquarium needs careful chemistry.
- aquarium tank
- The aquarium tank held two hundred liters.
- public aquarium
- The public aquarium opened a new jellyfish exhibit.
- set up an aquarium
- It took a week to set up the aquarium properly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fish tank
- Fish tank is the everyday term for the home container, while aquarium also covers large public displays.
- tank
- Tank is short and can mean any container for liquid, so you often need to add fish or aquarium.
- oceanarium
- Oceanarium is a big marine park with open pools for large animals, usually bigger than an aquarium.
Word family
- aquatic adjective
- living or taking place in water
- aquarist noun
- a person who keeps or studies fish tanks
- aqua noun
- water, or a light blue-green color
- aquaculture noun
- the farming of fish and other water life
Commonly confused: aquarium or terrarium? aquarium or aqueduct?
aquarium vs terrarium
A terrarium holds land plants or small land animals, while an aquarium holds water life.
aquarium vs aqueduct
An aqueduct is a channel or bridge that carries water, not a place to keep animals.
Practice
Where would you most likely see a jellyfish exhibit?
Choose one answer.
An aquarium displays water animals. A terrarium is for land plants and small creatures, and a planetarium shows stars.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “aquarium”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.