: one of the asexually produced individuals of a compound organism (such as a bryozoan, siphonophore, or coral colony)
Examples of zooid in a Sentence
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Portuguese man o' wars, in particular, are made up of four zooids called polyps, each responsible for a different purpose. —
Hunter Geisel, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025 The zooids start as a single larva floating in the water among the plankton. —Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Oct. 2025 The specialized animals are called zooids and are genetically identical but each serve a different function for survival, such as floating, catching prey or reproduction, NOAA says. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 20 June 2025 What looks like an individual Velella velella is actually a colony of teeny multicellular animals, or zooids, each with their own function, that come together to make a single organism. —Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024 Siphonophores are colonial organisms consisting of numerous individual parts known as zooids. —Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 20 Mar. 2024 While the zooids in charge of movement maneuver the siphonophore into the perfect position for finding food, the zooids in charge of predation are armed with fluorescent tentacles that twitch and flash to attract prey. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 28 Aug. 2023
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Hunter Geisel, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025 The zooids start as a single larva floating in the water among the plankton. —Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Oct. 2025 The specialized animals are called zooids and are genetically identical but each serve a different function for survival, such as floating, catching prey or reproduction, NOAA says. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 20 June 2025 What looks like an individual Velella velella is actually a colony of teeny multicellular animals, or zooids, each with their own function, that come together to make a single organism. —Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024 Siphonophores are colonial organisms consisting of numerous individual parts known as zooids. —Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 20 Mar. 2024 While the zooids in charge of movement maneuver the siphonophore into the perfect position for finding food, the zooids in charge of predation are armed with fluorescent tentacles that twitch and flash to attract prey. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 28 Aug. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Zooid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/zooid. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
zooid
noun
zo·oid ˈzō-ˌȯid 
: one of the asexually produced individuals of a compound organism (as a coral colony)
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