Meanings
nounalga (plural algae or (archaic) algæ)
plural algae · archaic plural algæ
- biologyAny of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms, including the seaweeds, whose size ranges from a single cell to giant kelps and whose biochemistry and forms are very diverse, some being eukaryotic.
For example, the antitumour depsipeptide kahalalide F was isolated from the opisthobranch mollusc Elysia rufescens, and is used by both the mollusc and its dietary alga Bryopsis spp.
2016 January 21, “Choose Your Weaponry: Selective Storage of a Single Toxic Compound, Latrunculin A, by Closely Related Nudibranch Molluscs”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI
Synonyms & antonyms
nounprimitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves
Similar
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Arabic طُحْلُب
- طُحْلُب (ṭuḥlub)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Bulgarian водора́сло
- водора́сло (vodoráslo)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Catalan alga
- algaany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Chinese Mandarin 水藻, 藻類 /藻类
- 水藻 (shuǐzǎo)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
- 藻類 /藻类 (zǎolèi)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Czech řasa
- řasaany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Danish alge
- algeany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Dutch alg
- algany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Esperanto algo
- algoany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Estonian vetikas
- vetikasany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Finnish levä
- leväany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
French algue
- algueany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
German Alge
- Algeany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Greek φύκος
- φύκος (fýkos)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Hebrew אַצָּה
- אַצָּה (atsá)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Hindi शैवाल, सिवार
- शैवाल (śaivāl)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
- सिवार (sivār)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
- सेवार (sevār)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Hungarian moszat, alga
- moszatany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
- algaany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Icelandic þörungur
- þörungurany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Irish alga, feamainn
- algaany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
- feamainnany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Italian alga
- algaany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Japanese 藻類
- 藻類 (sōrui)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Korean 조류
- 조류 (joryu)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Latvian aļģes
- aļģesany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Lithuanian dumbliai
- dumbliaiany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Malay alga
- algaany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Māori pūkohu wai
- pūkohu waiany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Norwegian Bokmål alge
- algeany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Polish glon, alga
- glonany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
- algaany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Portuguese alga
- algaany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Punjabi ਜਿਲਬ
- ਜਿਲਬ (jilab)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Romanian algă
- algăany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Russian во́доросль
- во́доросль (vódoroslʹ)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Scottish Gaelic feamainn, alga
- feamainnany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
- algaany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Slovak riasa
- riasaany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Spanish alga
- algaany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Swahili mwani
- mwaniany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Swedish alg
- algany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Tagalog lumot
- lumotany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Thai สาหร่าย
- สาหร่าย (sǎa-ràai)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Turkish alg, su yosunu
- algany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
- su yosunuany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Ukrainian во́дорість
- во́дорість (vódoristʹ)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Urdu کائی
- کائی (kāī)any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Vietnamese tảo
- tảoany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Welsh alga
- algaany of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
alga. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alga
MLA
“alga.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alga. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alga,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alga.
Source: alga on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.