abalone

[ ab-uh-loh-nee ]

See synonyms for abalone on Thesaurus.com

noun

a large mollusk of the genus Haliotis, having a bowllike shell bearing a row of respiratory holes, the flesh of which is used for food and the shell for ornament and as a source of mother-of-pearl.

Origin of abalone

1840–50, Americanism; taken as singular of California Spanish abulones, plural of abulón,aulón< a word in Rumsen, a Costanoan language formerly spoken at Monterey, California

Words Nearby abalone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use abalone in a sentence

The business plans called for growing abalone, lobster, oysters, clams, and seaweed.
Undersea vertical farms could be the future of sustainable seafood | Maria Finn/Hothouse | October 13, 2021 | Popular-Science
In the case of the excruciatingly slow-growing red abalone, this could be ten to twelve years.
The Foraging Wars: Extreme Eating Hits California | Debra A. Klein | January 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In California, tourists have been pitted against career foragers, causing problems for wild mushrooms and abalone.
The Foraging Wars: Extreme Eating Hits California | Debra A. Klein | January 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
On these we stroll and gather abalone shells and empty sea eggs and other relics up-thrown by winter storms.
Indian Legends of Vancouver Island | Alfred Carmichael
Emmie, grown very pink, had thrust Editha and Archibald abalone under the table.
The Open Question | Elizabeth Robins

Disks of abalone shell with small openings to permit actual vision were fitted into the eye openings in the basket.
Pomo Bear Doctors | Samuel Alfred Barrett
Incidentally, it is interesting to note that the Chinese consumed the abalone meat in large quantities.
Sixty Years in Southern California 1853-1913 | Harris Newmark
Yet as each man rose again usually he had secured one or more of the large abalone shells.
The Camp Fire Girls Behind the Lines | Margaret O'Bannon Womack Vandercook

British Dictionary definitions for abalone

abalone

/ (ˌæbəˈləʊnɪ) /

noun

any of various edible marine gastropod molluscs of the genus Haliotis, having an ear-shaped shell that is perforated with a row of respiratory holes. The shells are used for ornament or decoration: Also called: ear shell See also ormer

Origin of abalone

C19: from American Spanish abulón; origin unknown

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

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