sea lily

noun

: crinoid
especially : a stalked crinoid

Examples of sea lily in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Most closely related to sea urchins, sea stars (aka starfish), sea lilies, and sand dollars, these bottom-dwellers range from as small as one inch long up to six feet. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 15 Nov. 2023 From slimy sea cucumbers to fan-like sea lilies, the mysterious creatures live in complete darkness. Carolyn Hagler, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 June 2023 This sea lily was among them. Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, 16 Mar. 2022 Pigments not known from modern organisms have come to light, too, including some from fossil sea lilies and algae dating to between 300 million and 150 million years ago. Jakob Vinther, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2017 Two cling gobies spend their entire lives among the tentacles of a sea lily, a close relative of sea stars that extends its tentacles to capture plankton in the water. Enric Sala, Discover Magazine, 22 Sep. 2015 The work is a meditative visual poem about the passage of time set against a stone wall carved with sea lily fossils. Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sea lily.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sea lily was in 1851

Dictionary Entries Near sea lily

Cite this Entry

“Sea lily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sea%20lily. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

sea lily

noun
: crinoid
especially : a crinoid that has a stalk

More from Merriam-Webster on sea lily

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