tardigrade

noun

tar·​di·​grade ˈtär-də-ˌgrād How to pronounce tardigrade (audio)
: any of a phylum (Tardigrada) of microscopic invertebrates with four pairs of stout legs that live usually in water or damp moss

called also water bear

Examples of tardigrade 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.
The tape containing tardigrades was not used to attach the lunar library to the lander. Daniel Oberhaus, WIRED, 5 Aug. 2019 Reclassifying based on previously unseen details clarified its relationship to living tardigrades. Mindy Weisberger, Scientific American, 15 Aug. 2024 Both species were placed in the same tardigrade superfamily Hypsibioidea, and was moved into the family Hypsibiidae. Mindy Weisberger, Scientific American, 15 Aug. 2024 In this state, tardigrades can survive for years, even decades, until conditions improve. Scott Travers, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for tardigrade 

Word History

Etymology

ultimately from Latin tardigradus slow-moving, from tardus slow + gradi to step, go — more at grade entry 1

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tardigrade was in 1860

Dictionary Entries Near tardigrade

Cite this Entry

“Tardigrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tardigrade. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

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