Definition of "scleractinian"

scleractinian

/ˌsklɪəɹækˈtɪniən/

adjective
comparative more scleractinian, superlative most scleractinian
1. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the corals of the order Scleractinia.
  Quotations
  In the buildup to the big night—the mass spawning always occurs after sundown—the corals begin to “set,” which might be thought of as the scleractinian version of going into labor.
  2014, Elizabeth Kolbert, chapter 7, in The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Henry Holt and Company
noun
plural scleractinians
1. Any of the corals of the order Scleractinia.