mollusc

British  

/ mɒˈlʌskən, ˈmɒləsk /

noun

1. 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)

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Other Word Forms

• mollusc-like adjective
• molluscan adjective

Etymology

Origin of mollusc

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

Example Sentences

"One of the reasons I'm interested in these snails is because they're so beautiful," explained evolutionary geneticist and mollusc expert Prof Angus Davison from the University of Nottingham.

From BBC • Aug. 3, 2025

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

From Science Daily • Jan. 12, 2024

But green groups in particular have warned about the difficulty of reviewing the large number of EU-era environmental laws, covering areas such as mollusc farming, border checks on imported salamanders, and rules for importing hay.

From BBC • Jan. 17, 2023

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

From The Guardian • Nov. 17, 2020

Multivalve, mul′ti-valv, n. a mollusc having a shell of more than two valves.—adj. having many valves—also Multival′vular.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various