cochleate

American

[kok-lee-it, -eyt] / ˈkɒk li ɪt, -ˌeɪt /

Also cochleated

adjective

shaped like a snail shell; spiral.

cochleate British

/ ˈkɒklɪˌeɪtɪd, ˈkɒklɪˌeɪt, -lɪɪt /

adjective

biology shaped like a snail's shell; spirally twisted

"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 cochleate

1825–35; < Latin cochleātus spiral, equivalent to cochle ( a ) cochlea + -ātus -ate ¹

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.

Embryo hooked, annular, or cochleate, the radicular end pointing downward.—Herbs of fresh, or one in brackish, ponds and streams, with jointed mostly rooting stems, and 2-ranked leaves, which are usually alternate or imperfectly opposite; the submersed ones pellucid, the floating ones often dilated and of a firmer texture.

From Project Gutenberg

Cochleate, coiled or shaped like a snail-shell.

From Project Gutenberg

Cochleate: spirally twisted like a screw or a univalve shell.

From Project Gutenberg

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