millipede

American  

[mil-uh-peed] / ˈmɪl əˌpid /

Or millepede

noun

millipedes plural

1. any terrestrial arthropod of the class Diplopoda, having a cylindrical body composed of 20 to more than 100 segments, each with two pairs of legs.

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millipede British  

/ ˈmɪlɪˌpiːd /

noun

1. any terrestrial herbivorous arthropod of the class Diplopoda, having a cylindrical body made up of many segments, each of which bears two pairs of walking legs See also myriapod

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millipede Scientific  

/ mĭl′ə-pēd′ /

1. Any of various wormlike arthropods of the class Diplopoda, having a long body composed of many narrow segments, most of which have two pairs of legs. Millipedes feed on plants and, unlike centipedes, do not have venomous pincers.

2. Compare centipede

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• millipedes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of millipede

1595–1605; < Latin mīlipeda (Pliny), equivalent to mīli- milli- + -peda, derivative of pēs, stem ped- foot

Compare meaning

How does millipede compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• centipede vs. millipede

Explanation

A millipede is a long, worm-like bug with a disturbing number of tiny legs. Some millipedes roll into a tiny ball when they're threatened — and you might roll into a tiny ball if you see one in your bedroom. Eek! Millipedes have many similarities to centipedes. Both are arthropods (not insects, but tiny animals with exoskeletons), and both have segmented bodies. Rather than a centipede's single pair of legs per segment, a millipede has two pairs. In other words, twice as many legs — which explains the name, millipede, with its roots mille, "thousand," and ped, "foot." Unlike centipedes, millipedes aren't poisonous, which doesn't mean you'll be happy to discover a family of millipedes living in your bathroom.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

millipede millipedes

The analysis indicates that millipedes may have originated nearly 460 million years ago, about 35 million years earlier than the oldest known millipede fossils and significantly earlier than previous estimates suggested.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026

The caravan looked like a mile-long millipede, Whittaker wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

Mr Prendini is the curator of the spider, scorpion, centipede and millipede collections at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, according to the museum's website.

From BBC ● May 13, 2024

Scientists discovered the pink dragon millipede in 2007 in the Greater Mekong region of Thailand.

From National Geographic ● Feb. 7, 2024

Seriously, if it was a millipede or a scorpion, Nathan could deal.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

Today, millipedes remain among the world's most important detritivores.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026

According to Marek, millipedes were among the early pioneers of life on land, helping recycle nutrients by feeding on decaying organic material in some of the first terrestrial ecosystems.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026

New discoveries include millipedes named Beddau Beast and Maerdy Monster after the areas in which they were found.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2023

It joins other millipedes found in the state, including the world’s leggiest creature on record — aptly named Illacme plenipes, Latin for “in highest fulfillment of feet” with 750 limbs.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 26, 2023

Somewhat recovered, Otto took to the branches while I scrambled through the overgrowth, making sure to shuffle my feet so I wouldn’t step on any wasp nests or vipers or millipedes.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer