conch
1 Americannoun
plural
conchs, conches-
the spiral shell of a gastropod, often used as a horn.
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any of various marine gastropods.
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the fabled shell trumpet of the Tritons.
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(often initial capital letter)
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a term used to refer to a native or inhabitant of the Florida Keys.
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a term used to refer to a Bahamian.
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Architecture. Also a smooth concave surface consisting of or resembling the interior of a semidome, as the surface of a vault, a trompe, or the head of a niche.
noun
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any of various tropical marine gastropod molluscs of the genus Strombus and related genera, esp S. gigas (giant conch), characterized by a large brightly coloured spiral shell
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the shell of such a mollusc, used as a trumpet
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architect another name for concha
Sensitive Note
Conch is usually a neutral nickname or term of self-reference for any person living in the Florida Keys or the Bahamas, where conch (the flesh of the gastropod) is a popular food. However, the nickname conch is sometimes used with disparaging intent when specifically referring to a person of Bahamian ancestry living in the Florida Keys. And Loyalists who fled to the Bahamas during the Revolutionary War used the nickname conch to refer disparagingly to a native or early settler of the Bahamas.
Other Word Forms
- conchate adjective
- conched adjective
Etymology
Origin of conch
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin concha < Greek kónchē mussel, shell
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.
Chipped conch shells and scattered bone whistles point to a musical ambience.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
The race starts any time from midnight to noon on race day, with one hour till race start signalled by blowing a conch.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2024
Still, the queen conch is one of many vulnerable species not included on Mexico’s national endangered species list.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 27, 2023
Officers reported finding two empty conch shells next to a pot and an active fire.
From Washington Times • Nov. 22, 2023
Like most Maya rulers, Chak Tok Ich’aak spent a lot of his time luxuriating in his court while dwarf servants attended to his whims and musicians played conch shells and wooden trumpets in the background.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
