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calamari

American  
[kal-uh-mahr-ee, kah-luh-, kah-lah-mah-ree] / ˌkæl əˈmɑr i, ˌkɑ lə-, ˌkɑ lɑˈmɑ ri /

noun

Cooking.
  1. squid.


calamari British  
/ ˌkæləˈmɑːrɪ /

noun

  1. squid cooked for eating, esp cut into rings and fried in batter

"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

Etymology

Origin of calamari

First recorded in 1820–30; from Italian, plural of calamaro, calamaio (short for pesce calamaio ), from Late Latin calamārium “inkhorn, pen case” (referring to the ink ejected by the squid), Latin calamārius “pertaining to a pen”; see calamus, -ary


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.

See Examples For:

They dined at The Custom House in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, on Monday evening, and racked up a £115 bill, which also featured eight Cokes, calamari and a two-course set menu.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

Chef and owner Elmer Komagata will add a street food menu at the new location, including gyoza dumplings, fried calamari and takoyaki.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 6, 2024

Wild shipworms are eaten in the Philippines -- either raw, or battered and fried like calamari.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2023

I love the kale salad with the pomegranate seeds and no nuts, calamari, the cacio e pepe pasta, and I’m drinking some red wine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2023

But when the waitress brought the bill, Allison carefully began to untangle how many drinks each person had ordered and who had the calamari appetizer, to make sure nobody paid for anybody else.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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