decapod
Americannoun
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any crustacean of the order Decapoda, having five pairs of walking legs, including the crabs, lobsters, crayfish, prawns, and shrimps.
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any dibranchiate cephalopod having ten arms, as the cuttlefish or squid.
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(initial capital letter) a steam locomotive having a two-wheeled front truck, ten driving wheels, and no rear truck.
adjective
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belonging or pertaining to the decapods.
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having ten feet or legs.
noun
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any crustacean of the mostly marine order Decapoda, having five pairs of walking limbs: includes the crabs, lobsters, shrimps, prawns, and crayfish
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any cephalopod mollusc of the order Decapoda, having a ring of eight short tentacles and two longer ones: includes the squids and cuttlefish
adjective
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of, relating to, or belonging to either of these orders
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(of any other animal) having ten limbs
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Any of various crustaceans of the order Decapoda, characteristically having ten legs, each joined to a segment of the thorax. Crabs, hermit crabs, lobsters, and shrimp are decapods.
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A cephalopod mollusk, such as a squid or cuttlefish, having ten armlike tentacles.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of decapod
First recorded in 1825–35, decapod is from the New Latin word Decapoda name of the order. See deca-, -pod
Vocabulary lists containing decapod
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.
"This single event contrasts starkly with carcinization, which has occurred repeatedly across decapod species," Kawabata explains.
From Science Daily • May 2, 2026
In the search for a better welfare of animals that we humans kill for food, researchers at the University of Gothenburg have chosen to focus on decapod crustaceans.
From Science Daily • Nov. 26, 2024
But there is also a lot we don’t know, including about decapod crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, and shrimp.
From BBC • Jun. 15, 2024
She is also trying to use genetic data to better understand the relationships among different decapod crustaceans, to more accurately pinpoint when various "crabby" lineages evolved, and pick apart the factors driving carcinization.
From Scientific American • Jun. 1, 2023
Again, if an imaginary decapod retained, when adult, many Zoea characters, would this not be a case of retardation?
From More Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 1 by Darwin, Francis, Sir
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.
