starfish

[ stahr-fish ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, plural (especially collectively) star·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) star·fish·es.

any echinoderm of the class Asteroidea, having the body radially arranged, usually in the form of a star, with five or more rays or arms radiating from a central disk; asteroid.

starfish

/ ˈstɑːˌfɪʃ /

any echinoderm of the class Asteroidea , such as Asterias rubens , typically having a flattened body covered with a flexible test and five arms radiating from a central disc

starfish

/ stär′fĭsh′ /

Any of various marine echinoderms of the class Asteroidea, having a star-shaped body usually with five arms. The arms have rows of little suckers on the undersides, called tube feet, with which the animal moves around and grasps prey. Many species extrude their stomach onto prey and digest it externally. Starfish can grow new arms if any are lost, and in one species, a whole individual can be regenerated from a single piece of arm. Starfish are related to sea urchins and sea cucumbers.

First recorded in 1530–40; star + fish

The crust cracks, and those cracks must be closed immediately, lest they splinter into a 20-armed starfish.

When Clements pried the urchins off, he found the remains of the starfish.

Then raise your free leg out to the side and your free arm toward the ceiling, like a starfish.

When there are too many bacterial cells, they use up so much oxygen that they suffocate the starfish.

His team also analyzed tissues from starfish that had succumbed in a mass die-off between 2013 and 2014.

Scientists blame mostly the Crown of Thorns killer starfish.

On the rocks and sand at the bottom starfish and crabs crawled slowly along or clung to some stone.

The oyster, tight in his shelly fortress, seems safe from the attack of a weak Starfish.

Ask any fisherman what he thinks of the "harmless" Starfish, and he will call it a pest and a nuisance.

The mouth of the Starfish opens into a kind of bag which slips between the oyster shells.

The Starfish merely presses the mussel into its mouth, cleans out the shells, and throws them away.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Browse