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Synonyms

shrimp

American  
[shrimp] / ʃrɪmp /

noun

plural

shrimps,

plural

shrimp

  1. any of several small, long-tailed, chiefly marine crustaceans of the decapod suborder Natania, certain species of which are used as food.

  2. Informal. a diminutive or insignificant person.

verb (used without object)

  1. to catch or try to catch shrimps.

adjective

  1. (of food) made with or containing shrimp.

    shrimp salad.

  2. of or relating to shrimp or their catching, processing, and marketing.

    a shrimp boat.
shrimp British  
/ ʃrɪmp /

noun

  1. any of various chiefly marine decapod crustaceans of the genus Crangon and related genera, having a slender flattened body with a long tail and a single pair of pincers

  2. any of various similar but unrelated crustaceans, such as the opossum shrimp and mantis shrimp

  3. Also called: freshwater shrimp.  any of various freshwater shrimplike amphipod crustaceans of the genus Gammarus, esp G. pulex

  4. Also called: sand shrimp.  any of various shrimplike amphipod crustaceans of the genus Gammarus, esp G. locusta See also opossum shrimp

  5. informal a diminutive person, esp a child

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (intr) to fish for shrimps

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • shrimper noun
  • shrimplike adjective

Etymology

Origin of shrimp

1300–50; Middle English shrimpe crustacean, puny person; akin to Middle High German schrimpfen to contract, Old English scrimman to shrink

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.

Girl, this is 2026, you don’t need to pay for allll that grilled shrimp!

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Significant amounts of fish and shrimp come to the U.S. from Asia and overseas fisheries.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 21, 2026

At the dimly lit town market, a few hundred metres from the jetty, the stalls are still well stocked with fish, shrimp and blue crabs.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

There will also be shrimp tempura and Georgia peach and ricotta flatbread with hot honey.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

But Slash didn’t curl up like a little shrimp.

From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.