bladder

[ blad-er ]
/ ˈblæd ər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR bladder ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Anatomy, Zoology.
  1. a membranous sac or organ serving as a receptacle for a fluid or air.
  2. urinary bladder.
Pathology. a vesicle, blister, cyst, etc., filled with fluid or air.
Botany. an air-filled sac or float, as in certain seaweeds.
something resembling a bladder, as the inflatable lining of a football or basketball.
an air-filled sac, usually made to resemble a club, used for beatings in low comedy, vaudeville, or the like.

Origin of bladder

before 900; Middle English; Old English blǣddre, blǣdre bladder, blister, pimple; cognate with Old Norse blāthra, dialectal Dutch bladder, German Blatter; akin to blow2

OTHER WORDS FROM bladder

blad·der·less, adjective blad·der·like, adjective

Words nearby bladder

blackwells island, blackwood, blackwork, blacky, blad, bladder, bladder campion, bladder fern, bladder kelp, bladder ketmia, bladder senna

Words related to bladder

sac, pocket, vesicle, blister, bag, inflate

Example sentences from the Web for bladder

British Dictionary definitions for bladder

bladder
/ (ˈblædə) /

noun

anatomy a distensible membranous sac, usually containing liquid or gas, esp the urinary bladder Related adjective: vesical
an inflatable part of something
a blister, cyst, vesicle, etc, usually filled with fluid
a hollow vesicular or saclike part or organ in certain plants, such as the bladderwort or bladderwrack

Derived forms of bladder

bladdery, adjective

Word Origin for bladder

Old English blǣdre

Medical definitions for bladder

bladder
[ blăd′ər ]

n.

Any of various distensible membranous sacs, such as the urinary bladder, that serve as receptacles for fluid or gas.
A blister, pustule, or cyst filled with fluid or air; vesicle.

Scientific definitions for bladder

bladder
[ blăd′ər ]

A sac-shaped muscular organ that stores the urine secreted by the kidneys, found in all vertebrates except birds and the monotremes. In mammals, urine is carried from the kidneys to the bladder by the ureters and is later discharged from the body through the urethra.
An air bladder.

Cultural definitions for bladder

bladder

A stretchable saclike structure in the body that holds fluids. The term is used most often to refer to the urinary bladder, which is part of the excretory system. Another kind of bladder is the gallbladder.