catadromous

C3A1T1A1D2R1O1M3O1U1S1

adjective

Living in fresh water as an adult, but breeding in the sea.

Opposite
anadromousdiadromous
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

adjectivecatadromous (comparative more catadromous, superlative most catadromous)

comparative more catadromous · superlative most catadromous

  1. biologyLiving in fresh water as an adult, but breeding in the sea.

    Bird migration routes favor marshes and river valleys, as do, more obviously, the movement of anadromous salmon and, the mirror image, catadromous eels, to mention only two of the numerous migrating fish species.

    2017, James C Scott, chapter 1, in Against the Grain, New Haven & London: Yale, →ISBN, page 53
  2. biologyOf a fern in which the first veins in a frond segment are produced towards the base of the frond.

Synonyms & antonyms

both senses

Opposite
anadromous

adjectivemigrating from fresh water to the sea to spawn

Opposite
diadromousanadromous

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From cata- + -dromous, by analogy with anadromous. Compare catanadromous.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish katadrominen, katadrominen
  • katadrominenof a fern
  • katadrominenof migratory fish
French catadrome
  • catadromeof migratory fish
Italian catadromo
  • catadromoof migratory fish
Polish katadromiczny, katadromiczny
  • katadromicznyof a fern
  • katadromicznyof migratory fish
Welsh disgynnol
  • disgynnolof migratory fish
Cite this entry
APA

catadromous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catadromous

MLA

“catadromous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catadromous. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “catadromous,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catadromous.

Source: catadromous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.