free-swimming
adjective
free-swim·ming
ˈfrē-ˈswi-miŋ 
: able to swim about : not attached
the free-swimming larva of the barnacle
Examples of free-swimming in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In the Echinodermata, however, individuals typically start out as bilaterally symmetrical, free-swimming larvae before developing a radial, five-fold (pentamerous) symmetry as adults.
—
Ian Randall, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Nov. 2025
Vibrio vulnificus is a species of pathogenic bacteria that lives in the environment, often in association with copepods, which are tiny free-swimming crustaceans.
—John Drake, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
These structures evolved billions of years ago from free-swimming bacteria that were engulfed by some of humanity's earliest ancestors.
—Sneha Khedkar, Scientific American, 1 Jan. 2024
Those snails, in turn, shed the worm's free-swimming larvae, which can then penetrate the exoskeleton of O. grillus.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 7 Sep. 2023
Fossilized polyps have been found in about 560-million-year old rocks, but the origin of the more free-swimming medusa or jellyfish is not well understood.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 2 Aug. 2023
That’s not the case for orcas, which are massive and free-swimming.
—Gene Johnson, Anchorage Daily News, 20 Mar. 2023
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Ian Randall, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Nov. 2025
Vibrio vulnificus is a species of pathogenic bacteria that lives in the environment, often in association with copepods, which are tiny free-swimming crustaceans.
—John Drake, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
These structures evolved billions of years ago from free-swimming bacteria that were engulfed by some of humanity's earliest ancestors.
—Sneha Khedkar, Scientific American, 1 Jan. 2024
Those snails, in turn, shed the worm's free-swimming larvae, which can then penetrate the exoskeleton of O. grillus.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 7 Sep. 2023
Fossilized polyps have been found in about 560-million-year old rocks, but the origin of the more free-swimming medusa or jellyfish is not well understood.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 2 Aug. 2023
That’s not the case for orcas, which are massive and free-swimming.
—Gene Johnson, Anchorage Daily News, 20 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Free-swimming.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free-swimming. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
free-swimming
adjective
free-swim·ming
-ˌswim-iŋ
: able to swim about : not attached
a free-swimming larva of a trematode
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