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octopus

[ ok-tuh-puhs ]
/ ˈɒk tə pəs /
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noun, plural oc·to·pus·es, oc·to·pi [ok-tuh-pahy]. /ˈɒk təˌpaɪ/.
any octopod of the genus Octopus, having a soft, oval body and eight sucker-bearing arms, living mostly at the bottom of the sea.
something likened to an octopus, as an organization with many forms of far-reaching influence or control.
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Origin of octopus

1750–60; <New Latin <Greek oktṓpous (plural oktṓpodes) eight-footed; see octo-, -pod
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use octopus in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for octopus

octopus
/ (ˈɒktəpəs) /

noun plural -puses
any cephalopod mollusc of the genera Octopus, Eledone, etc, having a soft oval body with eight long suckered tentacles and occurring at the sea bottom: order Octopoda (octopods)
a powerful influential organization with far-reaching effects, esp harmful ones
another name for spider (def. 8)

Word Origin for octopus

C18: via New Latin from Greek oktōpous having eight feet
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
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