mollusc

British

/ ˈmɒləsk /

noun

any invertebrate of the phylum Mollusca, having a soft unsegmented body and often a shell, secreted by a fold of skin (the mantle). The group includes the gastropods (snails, slugs, etc), bivalves (clams, mussels, etc), and cephalopods (cuttlefish, octopuses, etc)

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of mollusc

C18: via New Latin from Latin molluscus, from mollis soft

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.

See Examples For:

mollusc

The present-day mollusc family includes snails, cephalopods and mussels.

From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2025

Chemically speaking, its formation begins with a mollusc extracting calcium and carbonate ions from water.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 12, 2024

Pearls are formed when a mollusc reacts to an irritant in its protective membrane.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2022

“And I’ve got to say,” she says, “a mollusc is a nice companion.”

From The Guardian ● Nov. 17, 2020

He was no longer content to remain in this aquarium, stuck like a mollusc to the side of the tank.

From Sinister Street, vol. 2 by Compton MacKenzie

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