Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of numerous usually free-swimming marine cnidarians of the class Scyphozoa, characteristically having a gelatinous, tentacled, often bell-shaped medusa stage as the dominant phase of its life cycle.
  • noun Any of various similar or related cnidarians.
  • noun Informal One who lacks force of character; a weakling.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A popular name of many kinds of acalephs, medusas, sea-blubbers, or sea-nettles: so called from the soft, gelatinous structure.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) Any one of the acalephs, esp. one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance. See medusa and acaleph.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun zoology Almost transparent aquatic being; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any of numerous usually marine and free-swimming coelenterates that constitute the sexually reproductive forms of hydrozoans and scyphozoans
  • noun large siphonophore having a bladderlike float and stinging tentacles

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The term "jellyfish" encompasses two different groups: Cnidaria, animals

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • The term "jellyfish" often is used to denote weakness.

    chron.com Chronicle 2011

  • From the edge, which emit green light when the jellyfish is agitated, Shimomura isolated a protein.

    The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008 - Illustrated Presentation 2008

  • The Telegraph reports that: "An 'immortal' jellyfish is swarming through the world's oceans, according to scientists."

    The 'Immortal' jellyfish Not a sheep 2009

  • This deadly species of jellyfish is only found in certain areas of the world, mainly in Australia. 6 There have been over 60 deaths from C. fleckeri in tropical Australia over the last century. 11 The early systemic symptoms of envenomation include dizziness, confusionand agitation and unconsciousness and can occur within minutes.

    Fish poisonings and envenomations 2010

  • The Chironex fleckeri of the chirodropid species, also known as the sea wasp or the box jellyfish, is considered the most deadly jellyfish in the world. 3 Stings from its tentacles cause an erythematous whipped appearance on the skin and may result in blackening and necrosis in the area.

    Fish poisonings and envenomations 2010

  • The jellyfish is part of the cnidarians, the family relationship of which is depicted in the figure on the left (click on image to view it in full scale).

    2005 June - Telic Thoughts 2005

  • They were far out of the course of steamers, and saw no craft of any kind, save fleets of "Portuguese men-o'-war," as Joe Swanson and the others called the jellyfish squadrons.

    The Pirate Shark Elliott Whitney

  • It's a certain kind of jellyfish, which is collected, then laid out in the sun with salt, until it solidifies.

    Posthuman Blues Mac 2007

  • The jellyfish is a skydiver whose shoot didn't open.

    What Could It Mean? Alex Austin 2011

Comments

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  • what is stranger than jellyfish sex?

    December 6, 2006

  • A jellyfish having sex with a bear?

    December 15, 2006

  • Who wants my jellyfish?

    I'm not sellyfish.

    - Ogden Nash, 'The Jellyfish'.

    December 5, 2008

  • Coming soon to a field near you.

    March 14, 2010

  • January 8, 2011

  • Is that parsley? I always assumed you'd serve jellyfish with peanut butter.

    January 8, 2011

  • Hee hee!

    January 8, 2011

  • I didn't even know people ate jellyfish... but I suppose people eat most things nowadays.

    January 10, 2011