Meanings
plural planktons
- uncountableusuallyOrganisms, especially small and microscopic ones, that drift in water.
The lake water was full of microscopic plankton.
2 more examples
Whales feed on tiny plankton drifting in the ocean.
The study focused on the role of plankton in the food chain.
- countableusuallyA plankter, any single organism that drifts in water.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Ancient Greekπλαγκτόν“drifting”
- GermanPlankton
- Englishplankton
Borrowed from German Plankton, coined by German zoologist and marine biologist Victor Hensen. By surface analysis, Ancient Greek πλαγκτός (planktós, “drifter”) + -on. Ultimately from Ancient Greek πλαγκτόν (planktón, “drifting”), neuter nominative of πλαγκτός (planktós), from πλάζομαι (plázomai, “to wander, drift”), from πλάζω (plázō, “to cause to wander, drive astray”). By surface analysis, plankt- + -on.
More words from German, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic عَوَالِق
- عَوَالِق (ʕawāliq)aquatic organism
Catalan plàncton
- plànctonaquatic organism
Chinese Cantonese 浮游生物
- 浮游生物 (fau⁴ jau⁴ sang¹ mat⁶)aquatic organism
Chinese Mandarin 浮游生物
- 浮游生物 (fúyóu shēngwù)aquatic organism
Czech plankton
- planktonaquatic organism
Danish plankton
- planktonaquatic organism
Esperanto planktono
- planktonoaquatic organism
Estonian hõljum
- hõljumaquatic organism
Finnish plankton, keijusto
- planktonaquatic organism
- keijustoaquatic organism
French plancton
- planctonaquatic organism
German Plankton
- Planktonaquatic organism
Greek πλαγκτόν
- πλαγκτόν (plagktón)aquatic organism
Hindi प्लवक
- प्लवक (plavak)aquatic organism
Hungarian plankton
- planktonaquatic organism
Indonesian plankton
- planktonaquatic organism
Irish planctón
- planctónaquatic organism
Italian plancton
- planctonaquatic organism
Japanese 浮遊生物, プランクトン
- 浮遊生物 (fuyūseibutsu)aquatic organism
- プランクトン (purankuton)aquatic organism
Korean 플랑크톤
- 플랑크톤 (peullangkeuton)aquatic organism
Māori meroiti
- meroitiaquatic organism
Norwegian plankton
- planktonaquatic organism
Persian پلانکتون
- پلانکتون (plankton)aquatic organism
Polish plankton
- planktonaquatic organism
Portuguese plâncton
- plânctonaquatic organism
Romanian plancton
- planctonaquatic organism
Russian планкто́н
- планкто́н (planktón)aquatic organism
Spanish plancton
- planctonaquatic organism
Swedish plankton
- planktonaquatic organism
Thai แพลงก์ตอน
- แพลงก์ตอน (plɛng-dtɔ̂n)aquatic organism
Urdu پیراکو
- پیراکو (pirākū)aquatic organism
Vietnamese sinh vật phù du
- sinh vật phù duaquatic organism
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with plankton
All rhymes →Cite this entry
plankton. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plankton
“plankton.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plankton. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “plankton,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plankton.
Source: plankton on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.