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definitions

mantis shrimp

noun

any stomatopod crustacean having a pair of appendages modified for grasping prey and resembling those of a mantis.

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Nearby words

  1. manticore,
  2. mantid,
  3. mantilla,
  4. mantinea,
  5. mantis,
  6. mantispid,
  7. mantissa,
  8. mantle,
  9. mantle plume,
  10. mantle radiotherapy

Origin of mantis shrimp

First recorded in 1870–75
Also called mantis crab.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for mantis shrimp

mantis shrimp

mantis crab

noun

any of various burrowing marine shrimplike crustaceans of the order Stomatopoda that have a pair of large grasping appendages: subclass MalacostracaSee also squilla
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