hydroid
1 of 2adjective
hy·droid ˈhī-ˌdrȯid 
: of or relating to a hydrozoan
especially : resembling a typical hydra
hydroid
2 of 2noun
: hydrozoan
especially : a hydrozoan polyp as distinguished from a hydrozoan medusa
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
New York Times, 11 Mar. 2022 Coastal podded hydroid Aglaophenia pluma, open-ocean Planes crab and open-ocean Lepas gooseneck barnacles colonize a piece of floating debris. NBC News, 3 Dec. 2021 Matt Simon, Wired, 15 Feb. 2021 Some grow algae and hydroid gardens on their backs, others can change color at will, and one, the decoy scorpionfish, has a lure on its dorsal fin that resembles a tiny, swimming fish. Troy Farah, Smithsonian, 29 Mar. 2018 The nudibranch, besides using the hydroids for habitat, regularly consume its home colony’s polyps. Sid Perkins, Science | AAAS, 31 Oct. 2017 In the wild, these slugs are known to feed on hydroids, an invertebrate marine organism. Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, 4 Nov. 2017 Fourteen of the slugs made a beeline for the hydroid that had been fed, according to a study published recently in Biology Letters. Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, 4 Nov. 2017 In shallow waters of the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast of western Africa, C. peregrina lives on and near corallike colonies of polyps called hydroids. Sid Perkins, Science | AAAS, 31 Oct. 2017 See More
Adjective
Scientists are divided over whether a creature sitting near the wheel — which resembles an ostrich feather crossed with a Christmas tree — is a hydroid or a black coral. New York Times, 11 Mar. 2022 Coastal podded hydroid Aglaophenia pluma, open-ocean Planes crab and open-ocean Lepas gooseneck barnacles colonize a piece of floating debris. NBC News, 3 Dec. 2021 Noun
The rock was also lined with wispy filaments, perhaps a component of the bacterial mats, or perhaps a peculiar animal known as a hydroid. Matt Simon, Wired, 15 Feb. 2021 Some grow algae and hydroid gardens on their backs, others can change color at will, and one, the decoy scorpionfish, has a lure on its dorsal fin that resembles a tiny, swimming fish. Troy Farah, Smithsonian, 29 Mar. 2018 The nudibranch, besides using the hydroids for habitat, regularly consume its home colony’s polyps. Sid Perkins, Science | AAAS, 31 Oct. 2017 In the wild, these slugs are known to feed on hydroids, an invertebrate marine organism. Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, 4 Nov. 2017 Fourteen of the slugs made a beeline for the hydroid that had been fed, according to a study published recently in Biology Letters. Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, 4 Nov. 2017 In shallow waters of the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast of western Africa, C. peregrina lives on and near corallike colonies of polyps called hydroids. Sid Perkins, Science | AAAS, 31 Oct. 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
Adjective
ultimately from New Latin Hydra
First Known Use
Adjective
circa 1864, in the meaning defined above
Noun
1865, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
hydroid 1 of 2
adjective
hy·droid ˈhī-ˌdrȯid
: of or relating to a hydrozoan
especially : resembling a typical hydra
hydroid
2 of 2noun
: hydrozoan
especially : a hydrozoan polyp as distinguished from a medusa