seaweed

noun

sea·​weed ˈsē-ˌwēd How to pronounce seaweed (audio)
1
plural seaweeds : any of various aquatic and chiefly marine brown, red, or green algae (such as rockweed, gulfweed, and kelp) that often grow in masses, typically have leaflike blades (see blade entry 1 sense 2e), are usually anchored to a solid substrate (such as a rock) by holdfasts (see holdfast sense 2a), and include some (such as dulse, laver, and sea lettuce) that are used as food
… many seaweeds have floats called pneumatocysts, filled with oxygen or carbon dioxide.Michael Le Page
The word seaweed is broad and refers generally to marine macroalgae, which are algae living in salt or brackish water and visible to the eye.Elyse Inamine
2
: a mass or growth of seaweeds
… soft crabs were easily visible in the seaweed, because the water was crystal clear then.Keith Walters
3
: harvested seaweed or seaweed parts used especially as food, fertilizer, and in cosmetics
… sushi rolls wrapped in thin sheets of dried seaweedJane Snow

Examples of seaweed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Miscellaneous foods like seaweed and iodized salt contain iodine which is important for thyroid functioning and brain development during pregnancy and infancy.23 Seaweed is also considered a (nondairy) source of calcium and contains vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids. Allison Herries, Verywell Health, 4 Jan. 2025 Chicken katsu, which is coated with bread crumbs and sliced, is a mainstay of Hawaiian restaurants, along with Spam musubi, a brick of rice topped with luncheon meat and wrapped in edible seaweed, and Hawaiian macaroni salad. Fielding Buck, Boston Herald, 1 Jan. 2025 This year’s design includes a 55-foot replica of the USS Princeton aircraft carrier, a Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter made of seaweed and parsley, a laptop with a working QR code that will provide information for the nonprofit and a pyrotechnic feature. Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC News, 31 Dec. 2024 When grazing beef cattle were fed seaweed supplements, their methane emissions dropped by nearly 40 percent. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for seaweed 

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of seaweed was in 1577

Dictionary Entries Near seaweed

Cite this Entry

“Seaweed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seaweed. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

seaweed

noun
sea·​weed -ˌwēd How to pronounce seaweed (audio)
: a plant growing in the sea
especially : a marine alga (as a kelp)

More from Merriam-Webster on seaweed

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!