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Portuguese man-of-war
noun
plural Portuguese man-of-wars also Portuguese men-of-war
: any of a genus (Physalia of the family Physaliidae) of large, tropical and subtropical, pelagic, siphonophore hydrozoans having a crested bladderlike float which bears the colony comprised of three types of zooids on the lower surface with one of the three having nematocyst-equipped tentacles
Examples of Portuguese man-of-war in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Box jellyfish, Portuguese man-of-war, lion’s mane and sea nettle are among highly venomous jellyfish species whose stings require immediate medical attention, per UF Health.
—Caroline C. Boyle, USA TODAY, 8 July 2024
Blue dragons, known scientifically as Glaucus atlanticus, sail on the surface of the ocean feeding on toxins from the Portuguese man-of-war and other jellyfish-like organisms.
—Priscilla Thompson, NBC News, 9 Mar. 2024
Nyad was blown off course and contented with shoulder pain, asthma and stings from jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war.
—Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 3 Nov. 2023
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In July, village lifeguards used five-gallon buckets to collect Portuguese man-of-wars that had washed up on the sand.
—Emma Allen, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023
Three of us went to East to take down my camp and had to wade through water packed with floating Portuguese man-of-wars to load the boat.
—Smithsonian Magazine, 10 July 2023
The animal eats creatures like the venomous Portuguese man-of-war and stores its prey’s stinging cells, called cnidocytes, in sacs, Hicks said.
—Megan Marples, CNN, 8 Apr. 2022
By-the-wind sailors are related to jellyfish and the Portuguese man-of-war, which can produce a painful sting, but their tentacles are mostly harmless, Pernet said.
—Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2023
The Portuguese man-of-war is a siphonophore, a species closely related to jellyfish, according to the National Ocean Service.
—Megan Marples, CNN, 8 Apr. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Portuguese man-of-war.' 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
1707, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of Portuguese man-of-war was
in 1707
Dictionary Entries Near Portuguese man-of-war
Cite this Entry
“Portuguese man-of-war.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Portuguese%20man-of-war. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Kids Definition
Portuguese man-of-war
noun
plural Portuguese man-of-wars also Portuguese men-of-war
: any of several large colonial invertebrate animals that are hydrozoans and float on the surface of the sea by means of a large gas-filled structure like a bag and have long tentacles capable of delivering a painful sting
Medical Definition
Portuguese man-of-war
noun
Por·tu·guese man-of-war
ˌpȯr-chə-ˌgēz-ˌman-əv-ˈwȯr
plural Portuguese man-of-wars
-ˈwȯrz
also Portuguese men-of-war
-ˌmen-əv-ˈwȯr
: any siphonophore of the genus Physalia including large tropical and subtropical oceanic forms having a crested bladderlike float which bears a colony comprised of three types of zooids on the lower surface with one of the three having stinging tentacles
More from Merriam-Webster on Portuguese man-of-war
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Portuguese man-of-war
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