Meanings
- uncountablebiologyThe organisms that live floating at the surface of water.
They^([Cnidarians]) are also the dominant organisms of the marine pleuston, providing food or substrate for a variety of other invertebrates living at the air-water interface[…].
1974, G. O. Mackie, “VIII: Location, Flotation and Dispersal”, in Leonard Muscatine, Howard M. Lenhoff, editors, Coelenterate Biology: Reviews and New Perspectives, Academic Press, page 3131 more example
These animals form the pleuston. Zaitsev (1971) differentiates between the neuston and the pleuston, while admitting that the distinction may be somewhat blurred. Both populations are associated with the surface film. That part of a pleuston animal which projects above the water surface can withstand prolonged desiccation and exposure to direct sunlight.
1983, John E. G. Raymont, James Dennis Burton, Keith R. Dyer, Plankton and Productivity in the Oceans: Zooplankton, Pergamon Press, page 9 - uncountablebiologyPlants that live floating at the surface of water.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Ancient Greekπλεῦσις“sailing”
- Englishpleuston
From Ancient Greek πλεῦσις (pleûsis, “sailing”), from πλέω (pléō) + -on. The -t- is on analogy with the coordinate terms.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish pleuston, irtokellujat
- pleustonorganisms
- irtokellujatplants
Portuguese pleuston, plêuston
- pleustonorganisms
- plêustonorganisms
- pleustonplants
- plêustonplants
Cite this entry
pleuston. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pleuston
“pleuston.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pleuston. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pleuston,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pleuston.
Source: pleuston on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.