muricate

[ myoor-i-keyt ]

/ ˈmyʊər ɪˌkeɪt /

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adjective Botany, Zoology.

covered with short, sharp points.

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Also mu·ri·cat·ed

[myoor-i-key-tid] /ˈmyʊər ɪˌkeɪ tɪd/ .

Origin of muricate

1655–65; <Latin mūricātus like a murex, equivalent to mūric- (stem of mūrex) murex + -ātus-ate¹

Words nearby muricate

murgeon, Murghob, muriate, muriatic, muriatic acid, muricate, Muriel, Murillo, murine, murine opossum, Murjite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use muricate in a sentence

Follicles oblong or ovate, often somewhat muricate with soft spinous projections.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray
Follicles turgid, mostly muricate with soft warty projections, sometimes ribbed.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray

British Dictionary definitions for muricate

muricate

muricated

/ (ˈmjʊərɪˌkeɪt) /

adjective

biology having a surface roughened by numerous short pointsmuricate stems

Word Origin for muricate

C17: from Latin mūricātus pointed like a murex

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