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
Michael Le PageThe 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
Elyse Inamine2
: a mass or growth of seaweeds
… soft crabs were easily visible in the seaweed, because the water was crystal clear then.—Keith Walters
Keith Walters3
: harvested seaweed or seaweed parts used especially as food, fertilizer, and in cosmetics
… sushi rolls wrapped in thin sheets of dried seaweed …—Jane Snow
Jane SnowExamples of seaweed in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Don’t: Eat Raw Oysters That Aren’t Served on Ice
While oysters served on rock salt or a bed of seaweed might look nice, Pirello says those setups are culinary red flags.
—Kelsey Mulvey, Sunset Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
And even then, it’s been obscured underneath layers of seaweed — a cash crop harvested by locals.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
What is sea moss good for? Sea moss is a type of seaweed that's often used as a supplement in gel, liquid, capsule or gummy forms.
—Hannah Yasharoff, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
Feed Additives Innovative feed additives, such as red seaweed, could reduce livestock methane emissions by 26% to 98%, depending on the type of additive and how it is administered.
—Paul Winters, Discover Magazine, 16 Mar. 2024
Just a puck of coffee held together by a food-safe coating of seaweed.
—Jaina Grey, WIRED, 13 Mar. 2024
Dinah Voyles Pulver Will your spring break be ruined by patches of smelly seaweed on beaches in Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean?
—The Enquirer, 23 Feb. 2024
There was no wind, and piles of seaweed lined the shore.
—Sanaë Lemoine, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
Now Uh and wife Mina Park focus on a succinct $110 tasting menu, served at a just-right pace designed for Angelenos, with centerpieces like skate wing ssam cradled in butter lettuce with fresh herbs and brightening slicks of gooseberry emulsion and seaweed remoulade.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Kelsey Mulvey, Sunset Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
And even then, it’s been obscured underneath layers of seaweed — a cash crop harvested by locals.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
What is sea moss good for? Sea moss is a type of seaweed that's often used as a supplement in gel, liquid, capsule or gummy forms.
—Hannah Yasharoff, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
Feed Additives Innovative feed additives, such as red seaweed, could reduce livestock methane emissions by 26% to 98%, depending on the type of additive and how it is administered.
—Paul Winters, Discover Magazine, 16 Mar. 2024
Just a puck of coffee held together by a food-safe coating of seaweed.
—Jaina Grey, WIRED, 13 Mar. 2024
Dinah Voyles Pulver Will your spring break be ruined by patches of smelly seaweed on beaches in Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean?
—The Enquirer, 23 Feb. 2024
There was no wind, and piles of seaweed lined the shore.
—Sanaë Lemoine, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
Now Uh and wife Mina Park focus on a succinct $110 tasting menu, served at a just-right pace designed for Angelenos, with centerpieces like skate wing ssam cradled in butter lettuce with fresh herbs and brightening slicks of gooseberry emulsion and seaweed remoulade.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'seaweed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near seaweed
Cite this Entry
“Seaweed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seaweed. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
seaweed
noun
sea·weed
-ˌwēd 
: a plant growing in the sea
especially
: a marine alga (as a kelp)
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