Meaning & use
plankton
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablebiologytechnical
Very small living things that float or drift in water and cannot swim against the current.
Grammar: Used as a mass noun: say 'plankton is', not 'planktons are'.
Patterns
- plankton in something
- feed on plankton
Whales and many fish feed on plankton.
The lake water was green because of all the plankton in it.
Scientists measured how much plankton was drifting near the surface.
noununcountablebiologytechnical
The group of plant-like and animal-like organisms that form the base of food chains in water.
Grammar: Often used with words like 'phytoplankton' and 'zooplankton' to name the two main types.
Patterns
- phytoplankton
- zooplankton
Plankton includes both plant-like phytoplankton and animal-like zooplankton.
Without plankton, the whole ocean food web would collapse.
Common combinations
- plankton bloom
- A plankton bloom turned the sea a milky blue.
- feed on plankton
- These small fish feed on plankton near the shore.
- plankton sample
- The team collected a plankton sample from the river.
Synonyms and how they differ
- microorganism
- A general word for any tiny living thing; plankton is only used for water-drifting ones.
- algae
- Algae can make their own food and may attach to surfaces; plankton drifts and includes both plant-like and animal-like forms.
Word family
- planktonic adjective
- Describing something that lives or drifts as plankton.
Commonly confused: plankton or plankter?
plankton vs plankter
A plankter is one single plankton organism, while plankton is the whole group.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'plankton' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Plankton' are tiny drifting organisms, so whales feeding on them is correct. The first option is wrong because plankton cannot swim against currents.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “plankton”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.