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• manta
  manta

  noun

  (in Spain and Spanish America) a cloak or wrap.
• Manta
  Manta

  noun

  a seaport in W Ecuador, on Manta Bay.

manta

¹ American  

[man-tuh, mahn-tah] / ˈmæn tə, ˈmɑn tɑ /

noun

mantas plural

1. (in Spain and Spanish America) a cloak or wrap.

2. a type of blanket or cloth used on a horse or mule.

3. Military. a movable shelter formerly used to protect besiegers, as when attacking a fortress.

4. Also called manta ray.  Also called devilfish.  Also called devil ray.  Ichthyology. any of several tropical rays of the small family Mobulidae, especially of the genus Manta, measuring from 2 to 24 feet (0.6 to 7.3 meters) across, including the pectoral fins.

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Manta ² American  

[mahn-tah, -tuh] / ˈmɑn tɑ, -tə /

noun

1. a seaport in W Ecuador, on Manta Bay.

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manta British  

/ ˈmæntə, ˈmanta /

noun

1. Also called: manta ray.   devilfish.   devil ray.  any large ray (fish) of the family Mobulidae, having very wide winglike pectoral fins and feeding on plankton

2. a rough cotton cloth made in Spain and Spanish America

3. a piece of this used as a blanket or shawl

4. another word for mantelet

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mantas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of manta

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Spanish, from Provençal: literally, “blanket”; see mantle

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

manta Manta mantas

The Gulf of Mexico is home to at least 19 other threatened and endangered species including various types of turtles, the giant manta ray and mountainous star coral.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026

Friday's decisions move whale sharks, manta rays and devil rays onto Appendix I after countries on Thursday did the same for the critically endangered oceanic whitetip shark.

From Barron's ● Nov. 28, 2025

Perhaps the manta ray-looking underwater vessel was being tested in their backyard?

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2025

"We want to expand the design space of traditional cross-flow filtration with new knowledge from the manta ray," says lead author and MIT postdoc Xinyu Mao PhD '24.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2024

I draw a sweeping abstract something that’s a cross between an amoeba and a manta ray with eyes and mouths in unexpected places.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

He is not the only survivor suffering trauma related to the very ocean that has long defined life in Manta and environs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

The actor played the villainous Black Manta in DC’s “Aquaman” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” and his film roles have included “Ambulance,” “Us,” “The Greatest Showman” and 2021’s reboot of the horror classic “Candyman.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026

Air Force personnel to the Ecuadorean military base at Manta in December for a short-term mission to support antidrug operations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026

"The base didn't help much" to secure the city, according to economist Frank Mestanza, who fled Manta in 2022 after threats.

From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025

In this way he reached the territory on the equinoctial line, where are now Puerto Viejo and Manta.

From History of the Incas by Markham, Clements R. (Clements Robert), Sir

I have been fortunate enough to dive with mantas in the Philippines and Maldives.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 27, 2018

Coral and colorful, small fish are almost always around, but mantas, hammerhead sharks and turtles are in shorter supply.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 3, 2016

Because manta-ray gills have become a popular cure for impotency in Chinese medicine, fishermen have now turned to hunting mantas.

From New York Times ● Sep. 7, 2012

There were mantas twice your size on the Ras.”

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 26, 2010

The women who were already in mourning for my uncle Lucas took this opportunity to place their mantas over their faces and to scurry to their homes before the hellish storm raised its head again.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

Related Words

• cloth
• scarf
• stole