First recorded in 1605–15; origin uncertain
First recorded in 1965–70
A squid is a sea creature that's similar to an octopus but has ten arms instead of eight—including two extra tentacles they use for grabbing their prey. The largest squid ever found was nearly 60 feet long! Like their octopus relatives, squid are cephalopods, or mollusks with prominent heads and many arms. Squid can swim extremely fast by sucking in water and propelling it out (just like jet propulsion), and their skin can change color so they blend in with their surroundings. Squid squirt a kind of dark ink to confuse predators; some language experts believe that squid was once sailors' slang for squirt.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One of the senior researchers on the expedition, Andrew DeVogelaere, said he was focused on the seafloor, “thinking about the whale pits,” when the squid suddenly showed up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
Blue sharks can reach more than three metres in length and feed in open water on fish, squid, smaller sharks and sea birds.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
And at the end of a shift, he and his dysfunctional workplace family gather to share bowls of squid stew and taste the results of their work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
By comparison, the eyes of insects and squid arose through a different evolutionary route involving tissue on the surface of the head.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Perhaps the smart bipedal dinosaurs, or the raccoons, or the otters, or the squid.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
At its core lies a sensitive magnetometer, known as a SQUID.
From Economist ● Jan. 11, 2018
That would create a magnetic field large enough to spot with a SQUID.
From Economist ● Jan. 26, 2017
What is used is a sensor called a SQUID, for superconducting quantum interference device.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
The Na’vi, eco-warriors with hardbodied girlfriends, fight back along with assorted alien dinosaurs, whales, squids, plants and blobs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025
Octopuses, squids, cuttlefish, and their cephalopod relatives are masters of camouflage, able to instantly shift their skin color to blend into their surroundings.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2025
The Natural History Museum has suggested it is hard to estimate the global population of colossal squids.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2025
It’s possible the creatures were giant squids, or pinnipeds, like seals or sea lions.
From National Geographic ● Dec. 28, 2023
Elsewhere they saw beautiful bronze daggers for sale, dried squids and carved onyx, a potent magical elixir made of virgin's milk and shade of the evening, even dragon's eggs which looked suspiciously like painted rocks.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
