arachnid

[ uh-rak-nid ]

See synonyms for arachnid on Thesaurus.com

noun

any wingless, carnivorous arthropod of the class Arachnida, including spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks, and daddy-longlegs, having a body divided into two parts, the cephalothorax and the abdomen, and having eight appendages and no antennae.: Compare insect.

adjective

belonging or pertaining to the arachnids.

Origin of arachnid

1865–70; <New Latin Arachnida<Greek aráchn(ē) spider, spider's web + New Latin -ida-ida

Other words from arachnid

a·rach·ni·dan [uh-rak-ni-duhn], /əˈræk nɪ dən/, adjective, noun

Words Nearby arachnid

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

How to use arachnid in a sentence

If experiences shape the brain’scircuitry then I learned to fear the fatherbefore the arachnid.
Five poems about the mind | Cynthia Miller, Paula Bohince, Anthony Anaxagorou, Tishani Doshi, Zeina Hashem Beck | August 25, 2021 | MIT Technology Review
Almost all middens contain insects, arachnids, and other creepy crawlies unlucky enough to become trapped in the amberat.
What’s in a packrat’s petrified pee? Just a few thousand years of secrets. | Rachel Feltman | August 12, 2021 | Popular-Science
On the other hand, some arachnids lose the upper hand — or leg — in a contest with snakes.
Spiders can take down and feast on surprisingly big snakes | Asher Jones | July 26, 2021 | Science News For Students
Fortunately, avoiding these little arachnids isn’t hard to do.
Everything you need to know about scorpion stings and venom | John Kennedy | July 22, 2021 | Popular-Science
Several new vaccines for Lyme disease are on the horizon, and in exciting but early work, researchers are even trying to develop vaccines that target ticks themselves, potentially protecting against a wide range of illnesses the tiny arachnids carry.
We Used to Have a Lyme Disease Vaccine. Are We Ready to Bring One Back? | Mandy Oaklander | June 17, 2021 | Time

The scorpion, a Heterometrus spinifer, is completely edible, despite the arachnid being deadly if alive.
Camel in a Can and 6 More Weird Canned Meats | | January 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The arachnid are followed by the myriapoda (centipedes, etc.), and these by the insecti or true insects.
Scientific American Supplement, Vol. XV., No. 388, June 9, 1883 | Various
His comparison of the arachnid appendages with those of insects and Crustacea is very curious.
Form and Function | E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell
Patten considers the Pteraspids as derived from primitive arachnid or spider-like forms having a bony carapace as Limulus has.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2) | David Starr Jordan
The characteristics of the median eyes must then be especially sought for in the arachnid group.
The Origin of Vertebrates | Walter Holbrook Gaskell
He simply, therefore, substituted arachnid for Annelid in the old theory.
The Origin of Vertebrates | Walter Holbrook Gaskell

British Dictionary definitions for arachnid

arachnid

/ (əˈræknɪd) /

noun

any terrestrial chelicerate arthropod of the class Arachnida, characterized by simple eyes and four pairs of legs. The group includes the spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, and harvestmen

Origin of arachnid

C19: from New Latin Arachnida, from Greek arakhnē spider

Derived forms of arachnid

arachnidan, adjective, noun

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

Scientific definitions for arachnid

arachnid

[ ə-răk′nĭd ]

Any of various arthropods of the class Arachnida, such as spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks. Arthropods are characterized by four pairs of segmented legs and a body that is divided into two regions, the cephalothorax and the abdomen.

Browse