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# diatom

noun (a diatom, diatoms)

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

## Everyday

1. A tiny one-celled living thing, a kind of algae, that lives in water and has a glassy shell made of silica. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diatom/#m1)
2. (science) diatoms make a large part of the oxygen we breathe and are food for many sea animals. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diatom/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science and biology lessons diatoms appear in food chains, plankton, microscopes and oxygen; their shells pile up on the sea floor and form diatomaceous earth used in filters and toothpaste; phrases: «diatoms under the microscope», «plankton and diatoms».

### Examples

- Under the microscope, the diatom looked like a tiny glass jewel. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diatom/#x1)
- Diatoms float in oceans, lakes and rivers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diatom/#x2)
- Diatoms make oxygen using sunlight, like plants. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diatom/#x3)
- Small sea creatures eat diatoms. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diatom/#x4)
- Our class drew different diatom shapes: circles, boats and stars. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diatom/#x5)
- Old diatom shells pile up on the sea floor over millions of years. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diatom/#x6)
- Scientists study diatoms to learn how clean a river is. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diatom/#x7)

### Note

Countable: one diatom, many diatoms. Pronounced DIE-a-tom. Too small to see without a microscope. They are not animals and not exactly plants; they are algae (protists).

## On Mova

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