jellyfish

American  

[jel-ee-fish] / ˈdʒɛl iˌfɪʃ /

noun

plural

jellyfish,

plural

jellyfishes

1. any of various marine coelenterates of a soft, gelatinous structure, especially one with an umbrellalike body and long, trailing tentacles; medusa.

2. Informal. a person without strong resolve or stamina; an indecisive or weak person.

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jellyfish British  

/ ˈdʒɛlɪˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any marine medusoid coelenterate of the class Scyphozoa, having a gelatinous umbrella-shaped body with trailing tentacles

2. any other medusoid coelenterate

3. informal a weak indecisive person

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Etymology

Origin of jellyfish

1700–10; 1910–15 jellyfish for def. 2; jelly + fish

Example Sentences

Creatures without hard shells or bones, such as jellyfish, almost never survive in the fossil record.

From Science Daily • Jan. 27, 2026

When they open them, a seascape galaxy of stars appears -- the bluish-white flashes of creatures from plankton and jellyfish to shrimp and fish responding to the sub lights.

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

I spent several hours spellbound by the aquarium—don’t miss the octopus and jellyfish tanks—and the museum of the world’s oceans.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 10, 2026

It looks, and feels, very eighties, but if quantum's potential is realised, the metal and wire jellyfish structure in front of me will transform the world, in many ways.

From BBC • Jan. 7, 2026

The jellyfish is in the top of the tank, and you beneath it, looking up.

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin

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