JELLYFISH (jellyfishes)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: jellyfishes   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does jellyfish mean? 

• JELLYFISH (noun)
  The noun JELLYFISH has 2 senses:

1. large siphonophore having a bladderlike float and stinging tentacles

2. any of numerous usually marine and free-swimming coelenterates that constitute the sexually reproductive forms of hydrozoans and scyphozoans

  Familiarity information: JELLYFISH used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• JELLYFISH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Large siphonophore having a bladderlike float and stinging tentacles

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

jellyfish; man-of-war; Portuguese man-of-war

Hypernyms ("jellyfish" is a kind of...):

siphonophore (a floating or swimming oceanic colony of polyps often transparent or showily colored)

Holonyms ("jellyfish" is a member of...):

genus Physalia; Physalia (Portuguese man-of-war)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of numerous usually marine and free-swimming coelenterates that constitute the sexually reproductive forms of hydrozoans and scyphozoans

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("jellyfish" is a kind of...):

cnidarian; coelenterate (radially symmetrical animals having saclike bodies with only one opening and tentacles with stinging structures; they occur in polyp and medusa forms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "jellyfish"):

Aegina (small medusa)

Chrysaora quinquecirrha (a type of jellyfish)

Holonyms ("jellyfish" is a member of...):

Cnidaria; Coelenterata; phylum Cnidaria; phylum Coelenterata (hydras; polyps; jellyfishes; sea anemones; corals)

 Context examples 

The tentacles of jellyfish galaxies are produced in galaxy clusters by a process called ram pressure stripping.

(Supermassive Black Holes Feed on Cosmic Jellyfish, ESO)

The polyp, a cnidarian as are jellyfish, provides stinging protection and secretes a calcium shell, and the algae performs photosynthesis, produces oxygen and gives the coral its color.

(Voracious fish defend coral reefs against warming, Wikinews)

Species that can more easily tolerate low oxygen levels, such as jellyfish, some squid and marine microbes, can flourish at the expense of fish, upsetting the balance of ecosystems.

(Oceans running out of oxygen at unprecedented rate, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Six out of the seven jellyfish galaxies in the study were found to host a supermassive black hole at the centre, feeding on the surrounding gas.

(Supermassive Black Holes Feed on Cosmic Jellyfish, ESO)