duck-billed platypus

British

noun

Sometimes shortened to: duckbill. platypus. an amphibious egg-laying mammal, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, of E Australia, having dense fur, a broad bill and tail, and webbed feet: family Ornithorhynchidae See also monotreme

"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

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.

Aside from the duck-billed platypus, the echidna is the only mammal that lay eggs.

From BBC • Nov. 9, 2023

And they must even build a Niffler, a treasure-hunting creature that looks like a duck-billed platypus, that also goes on the game pad to get sucked into the game.

From Washington Times • Dec. 18, 2016

So here, rather than represent themselves with lions or black horses, they've plumped for a duck-billed platypus.

From The Guardian • Jun. 8, 2013

The male duck-billed platypus infuses its heel spurs with a cobralike poison.

From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2012

It has, however, what are called marsupials: kangaroos, opossums, wombats, and the duck-billed platypus.

From In the Eastern Seas by Kingston, William Henry Giles

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