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snapping shrimp

American  

noun

  1. any common shrimp of the family Alphaeidae, distinguished by the snapping sound made by its enlarged claw.


Etymology

Origin of snapping shrimp

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A healthy coral reef is noisy, full of the croaks, purrs, and grunts of various fishes and the crackling of snapping shrimp.

From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2024

But along with shouting fish and snapping shrimp, there appears to be a new addition to the nautical ensemble: the stingray.

From Science Magazine • Jul. 20, 2022

Woodpeckers and snapping shrimp are “the two animals that seem to risk brain damage all day, every day,” Speiser says.

From Scientific American • Jul. 14, 2022

“For example, we can calculate the number of snaps per minute in an ecosystem, to determine whether snapping shrimp crackle fills the ecosystem,” Williams says.

From Washington Post • Feb. 5, 2022

The pistol, or snapping shrimp, has an ability to generate sonic energy by closing their enlarged claw at rapid speed.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2017

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