platypus

[ plat-i-puhs, -poos ]

/ ˈplæt ɪ pəs, -ˌpʊs /

Save This Word!

noun, plural plat·y·pus·es, plat·y·pi

[plat-i-pahy]. /ˈplæt ɪˌpaɪ/.

a small, aquatic, egg-laying monotreme, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, of Australia and Tasmania, having webbed feet, a tail like that of a beaver, a sensitive bill resembling that of a duck, and, in adult males, venom-injecting spurs on the ankles of the hind limbs, used primarily for fighting with other males during the breeding season.

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Also called duckbill, duckbilled platypus.

Origin of platypus

1790–1800; <New Latin <Greek platýpous flat-footed, equivalent to platy-platy- + -pous, adj. derivative of poúsfoot

Words nearby platypus

platykurtic, platykurtosis, platypellic pelvis, platypnea, platypod, platypus, platyrrhine, platysma, platyspondylia, plaudit, Plauen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use platypus in a sentence

This is the platypus of the crab world, because it’s so weird and different.
This 90-million-year-old crab had the eyes of a hunter|Philip Kiefer|January 11, 2022|Popular-Science
We have to think about this holistically rather than just adding a platypus or a pterodactyl.
The woman who will decide what emoji we get to use|Tanya Basu|May 11, 2021|MIT Technology Review
It has webbed feet, and therefore sometimes receives the name of Platypus (flat-foot).
Stories of the Universe: Animal Life|B. Lindsay
So, although it was a long and rough way to the little creek where the Platypus lived, it did not seem at all far.
Dot and the Kangaroo|Ethel C. Pedley

She kept on fidgetting about, putting off calling to the Platypus by one excuse and another: she was decidedly ill at ease.
Dot and the Kangaroo|Ethel C. Pedley
Dot could not hear what the Kangaroo said, but she saw the Platypus hurriedly prepare to regain the water.
Dot and the Kangaroo|Ethel C. Pedley
The Platypus spluttered out more dirty water, in its indignation.
Dot and the Kangaroo|Ethel C. Pedley

British Dictionary definitions for platypus

platypus

/ (ˈplætɪpəs) /

noun plural -puses

See duck-billed platypus

Word Origin for platypus

C18: New Latin, from platy- + -pus, from Greek pous foot

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