Meanings
plural bryozoa · plural bryozoans
- biologyA member of the phylum Bryozoa of aquatic, usually colonial invertebrates.First known use 19th c.
The blanket of bryozoans also blocks out some of the light needed by the blade for photosynthesis.
1991, Martha Holmes, Sea Trek, BBC Books, page 791 more example
Every microscopic individual in a bryozoan colony is a clone of the original animal that settled on the lake floor, and is a hermaphrodite, both male and female.
2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherlands, Penguin, published 2023, page 163Synonyms: ectoproct, polyzoan, moss animal
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA member of the phylum Bryozoa of aquatic, usually colonial invertebrates.
More synonyms by meaning
nounsessile aquatic animal forming mossy colonies of small polyps each having a curved or circular ridge bearing tentacles; attach to stones or seaweed and reproduce by budding
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From Translingual Bryozoa + English -an.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 苔蘚蟲 /苔藓虫
- 苔蘚蟲 /苔藓虫 (táixiǎnchóng)invertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
Czech mechovka
- mechovkainvertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
Dutch mosdiertje
- mosdiertjeinvertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
Esperanto briozoo
- briozooinvertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
Finnish sammaleläin
- sammaleläininvertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
French ectoprocte
- ectoprocteinvertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
German Moostierchen
- Moostiercheninvertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
Icelandic mosadýr
- mosadýrinvertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
Irish eicteapracht
- eicteaprachtinvertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
Italian briozoo
- briozooinvertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
Japanese 苔虫
- 苔虫 (kokemushi)invertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
Polish mszywioł
- mszywiołinvertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
Portuguese ectoprocto
- ectoproctoinvertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
Russian мша́нка
- мша́нка (mšánka)invertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
Spanish briozoo
- briozooinvertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa
Cite this entry
bryozoan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bryozoan
“bryozoan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bryozoan. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bryozoan,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bryozoan.
Source: bryozoan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.