Aquatic, a term applied to plants and animals. It means living in the water, yet it is seldom used of plants or animals that live wholly in the water. We call all water fowl aquatic, yet we should hardly apply the term to fishes. Water lilies are typical aquatic plants, yet they bloom above water. The green thread-like algae of fresh water and the sea weeds of the ocean live wholly in or under water, yet we should not speak of them ordinarily as aquatic plants. See WATER LILY; WATER HYACINTH; BEAVER; MUSKRAT, etc.