- a distensible membranous sac, usually containing liquid or gas, esp the urinary bladder
- an inflatable part of something
- a hollow vesicular or saclike part or organ in certain plants, such as the bladderwort or bladderwrack
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
blad•der /ˈblædɚ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Anatomy, Zoology, Botany
- a hollow organ in the body that is shaped like a bag and may hold gases or liquids, esp. urine.
- something resembling a bladder, such as the inside lining of a football inflated with air.
blad•der
(blad′ər),USA pronunciation n.
blad′der•less, adj.
blad′der•like′, adj.
- Anatomy, Zoology
- a membranous sac or organ serving as a receptacle for a fluid or air.
- See urinary bladder.
- Pathologya vesicle, blister, cyst, etc., filled with fluid or air.
- Botanyan 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.
- bef. 900; Middle English; Old English blǣddre, blǣdre bladder, blister, pimple; cognate with Old Norse blāthra, dialect, dialectal Dutch bladder, German Blatter; akin to blow2
blad′der•like′, adj.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
bladder /ˈblædə/ n