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# algae

noun, plural (algae; singular alga — rarely used); uncountable in everyday use (some algae)

«algae» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Simple plant-like living things, usually green, brown or red, that grow in water or damp places and make their own food from sunlight. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/algae/#m1)
2. The green slime or scum seen on ponds, rocks, fish tanks and swimming pools. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/algae/#m2)
3. Seaweeds are large algae. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/algae/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science, algae are producers at the bottom of water food chains: tiny fish and other creatures eat them, and they give off much of the oxygen we breathe. In everyday life they make ponds green and paths slippery. In safety: rocks covered in algae are very slippery; some algae (blue-green algae) in lakes can be poisonous to people and dogs — obey warning signs. Phrases: algae bloom, green algae, pond algae.

### Examples

- Algae turned the pond water bright green. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/algae/#x1)
- Be careful — the rocks are slippery with algae. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/algae/#x2)
- Seaweed is a kind of algae that grows in the sea. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/algae/#x3)
- Algae make food from sunlight, like plants do. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/algae/#x4)
- Tiny animals in the sea eat algae. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/algae/#x5)
- We cleaned the algae off the inside of the fish tank. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/algae/#x6)
- The sign warned that toxic algae made the lake unsafe for swimming. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/algae/#x7)

### Note

«Algae» is plural; the singular «alga» is rare, so people say «some algae» or «a type of algae». Pronounced AL-jee (UK also AL-ghee). Algae are not true plants in modern science, but they make food by photosynthesis like plants.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «algae» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/algae/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«algae» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/algae.html) on Mova free.