How to Use filter feeder in a Sentence

filter feeder

noun
  • The find could explain how other life-forms move and how filter feeders eat.
    — Magnus Wennman, National Geographic, 17 June 2019
  • As filter feeders, the sharks are known for their massive mouths that can open up to 3 feet wide.
    — Emma Colton, Fox News, 13 Sep. 2023
  • As a boost to the ecosystem and themselves, the worms are filter feeders that help clean the water.
    — Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 June 2025
  • Humpback whales are filter feeders and eat small fish and crustaceans, mostly krill.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
  • Giant clams are filter feeders.
    — NPR, 7 May 2026
  • Found worldwide, these slow-moving filter feeders pose no threat to humans.
    — Nick Caloyianis, National Geographic, 12 Apr. 2018
  • Their appendages are used to catch food, making these animals filter feeders.
    — National Geographic, 9 Dec. 2016
  • Despite their massive size, whale sharks are filter feeders, boasting the ability to open their mouths up to five feet wide.
    — Anna Nordseth, Discover Magazine, 1 Aug. 2023
  • This is far from the prevailing view of flamingos being passive filter feeders.
    — New Atlas, 15 May 2025
  • The filter feeders eat plankton and small fish, outcompeting other fish for food.
    — Carolyn Hagler, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 May 2023
  • The team realized that this is how mobula rays are such successful filter feeders.
    — Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 31 Dec. 2024
  • The museum also features other creatures that shared the oceans with this filter feeder.
    — Victoria Tang, Discover Magazine, 20 Feb. 2011
  • Brachiopods are filter feeders, sucking in water and catching food particles caught in the stream.
    — Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, 2 June 2020
  • Others in the group were filter feeders, and now Cambroraster shows that some scrounged the sea floor like modern-day horseshoe crabs.
    — Joshua Sokol, Science | AAAS, 30 July 2019
  • Working with colleagues, his group discovered that flamingos are far from the passive filter feeders they were long assumed to be.
    — John Drake, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Papa paddlefish is a filter feeder with a long, sensitive nose that enjoys large, slow-moving rivers.
    — Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 July 2020
  • Tiny deep ocean filter feeders have been found with microplastics in their bodies, as have fish, birds, humans and other animals.
    — Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Apr. 2020
  • Visitors are then able to look down as the filter feeders swoop effortlessly through the water, sucking up the plankton drawn to the light.
    — Valerie Stimac, SFChronicle.com, 9 Oct. 2019
  • These critters are voracious filter feeders that deplete the plankton that other native fish also depend on.
    — Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Oysters, as well as other shellfish like clams, are superefficient filter feeders.
    — Stephanie Cain, Fortune, 20 July 2019
  • Rather, the broad, bespeckled animal is a filter feeder, harvesting plankton and small fish from the water simply by swimming about with its mouth agape—much like baleen whales.
    — Ryan P. Smith, Smithsonian, 8 May 2018
  • Fine sediments could clog respiratory structures in fish and feeding structures of filter feeders.
    — Alexus Cazares-Nuesser, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2025
  • As previously reported, the largest shark alive today, reaching up to 20 meters long, is the whale shark, a sedate filter feeder.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 9 Mar. 2025
  • As previously reported, the largest shark alive today, reaching up to 20 meters long, is the whale shark, a sedate filter feeder.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 22 Jan. 2024
  • Microplastics have been found in shellfish, left behind after the filter feeders draw in and expel contaminated water.
    — Jack Fisher, The Seattle Times, 20 Aug. 2018
  • The species are highly efficient filter feeders and form dense colonies, according to the CDWF.
    — Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 1 May 2026
  • The humpback, a filter feeder living off krill and small fish, didn't appear interested in eating the kayaker, so the man escaped the animal's mouth without struggling.
    — Kelli Bender, People.com, 26 Mar. 2025
  • Flamingoes were long considered to be filter feeders, passively consuming seeds, crustaceans, plant parts, and other small aquatic animals.
    — John Drake, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
  • The greater variety of seaweeds, barnacles, and other filter feeders will, in turn, attract larger creatures, like crabs and fish, creating a vibrant ecosystem.
    — Lindsey J. Smith, Smithsonian, 7 Oct. 2019
  • As filter feeders, oysters remove algae and excess nutrients from the water, their beds support a variety of marine life including fish and fellow shellfish.
    — Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 17 Jan. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'filter feeder.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: