crustacean

[ kruh-stey-shuhn ]
See synonyms for crustacean on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any chiefly aquatic arthropod of the class Crustacea, typically having the body covered with a hard shell or crust, including the lobsters, shrimps, crabs, barnacles, and wood lice.

adjective
  1. belonging or pertaining to the crustaceans.

Origin of crustacean

1
1825–35; <New Latin Crustace(a) (neuter plural) hard-shelled ones (see crust, -acea) + -an

Words Nearby crustacean

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use crustacean in a sentence

  • Here are four secrets to bring your crustacean habit to a new level.

  • Another edible crustacean of considerable economic importance is the blue crab.

    A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
  • A small crustacean very much resembling the lobster, but less indigestible.

    The Devil's Dictionary | Ambrose Bierce
  • He replied that it was only a familiar species of phyllopodous crustacean, known as Eubranchipus vernalis.

    A Year in the Fields | John Burroughs
  • In form it suggested a huge crab, though it was not very much like any crustacean I had ever seen.

  • The eye of a crustacean is a very complicated structure, commonly described as a compound eye.

    The Sea Shore | William S. Furneaux

British Dictionary definitions for crustacean

crustacean

/ (krʌˈsteɪʃən) /


noun
  1. any arthropod of the mainly aquatic class Crustacea, typically having a carapace hardened with lime and including the lobsters, crabs, shrimps, woodlice, barnacles, copepods, and water fleas

adjectiveAlso: crustaceous
  1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Crustacea

Origin of crustacean

1
C19: from New Latin crūstāceus hard-shelled, from Latin crūsta shell, crust

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 crustacean

crustacean

[ krŭ-stāshən ]


  1. Any of various widespread arthropods of the class Crustacea that live mostly in water and have a hard shell, a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Crustaceans include crabs, lobsters, shrimp, barnacles, and copepods.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for crustacean

crustacean

[ (kru-stay-shuhn) ]


A class of arthropods with shells.

Notes for crustacean

Crabs, lobsters, shrimp, and crayfish are crustaceans.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.