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gastropod
[ gas-truh-pod ]
/ ˈgæs trəˌpɒd /
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noun
any mollusk of the class Gastropoda, comprising the snails, whelks, slugs, etc.
adjective
Also gas·trop·o·dous [ga-strop-uh-duhs]. /gæˈstrɒp ə dəs/. belonging or pertaining to the gastropods.
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Words nearby gastropod
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use gastropod in a sentence
The problem of the causes of the torsion of the Gastropod body has been much discussed.
G, The acrecbolic snout of a proboscidiferous Gastropod, arrested short of complete eversion by the fibrous band b.
One of the prettiest of the gastropod shells, is that of the cowry, in some parts of Africa used as money.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore WoodThe name arises from confusion with a coiled gastropod, which was held to resemble the horns of the Egyptian deity Jupiter Ammon.
British Dictionary definitions for gastropod
gastropod
gasteropod
/ (ˈɡæstrəˌpɒd) /
noun
any mollusc of the class Gastropoda, typically having a flattened muscular foot for locomotion and a head that bears stalked eyes. The class includes the snails, whelks, limpets, and slugs
adjective
of, relating to, or belonging to the Gastropoda
Derived forms of gastropod
gastropodan (ɡæsˈtrɒpədən), adjective, noungastropodous, adjectiveCollins 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 gastropod
gastropod
[ găs′trə-pŏd′ ]
Any of various carnivorous or herbivorous mollusks of the class Gastropoda, having a head with eyes and feelers and a muscular foot on the underside of its body with which it moves. Most gastropods are aquatic, but some have adapted to life on land. Gastropods include snails, which have a coiled shell, and slugs, which have a greatly reduced shell or none at all.
Word History
Snails, conchs, whelks, and many other similar animals with shells are all called gastropods by scientists. The word gastropod comes from Greek and means stomach foot, a name that owes its existence to the unusual anatomy of snails. Snails have a broad flat muscular foot used for support and for forward movement. This foot runs along the underside of the animal-essentially along its belly. The Greek elements gastro-, stomach, and -pod, foot, are found in many other scientific names, such as gastritis (an inflammation of the stomach) and sauropod (lizard foot, a type of dinosaur).
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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