mollusk
or mol·lusc
[ mol-uh sk ]
/ ˈmɒl əsk /
noun
any invertebrate of the phylum Mollusca, typically having a calcareous shell of one, two, or more pieces that wholly or partly enclose the soft, unsegmented body, including the chitons, snails, bivalves, squids, and octopuses.
Words nearby mollusk
Origin of mollusk
OTHER WORDS FROM mollusk
mol·lus·kan, mol·lus·can [muh-luhs-kuh n] /məˈlʌs kən/, adjective, nounmol·lusk·like, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Examples from the Web for mollusks
Scientific definitions for mollusks
mollusk
Any of numerous invertebrate animals of the phylum Mollusca, usually living in water and often having a hard outer shell. They have a muscular foot, a well-developed circulatory and nervous system, and often complex eyes. Mollusks include gastropods (snails and shellfish), slugs, octopuses, squids, and the extinct ammonites. Mollusks appear in the fossil record in the early Cambrian Period, but it is not known from what group they evolved.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for mollusks
mollusks
[ (mol-uhsks) ]
A phylum of invertebrates with soft bodies and muscular feet. Some mollusks also have hard shells. Oysters, clams, snails, slugs, octopuses, and squid are mollusks.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.