prawn
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
idioms
noun
-
any of various small edible marine decapod crustaceans of the genera Palaemon, Penaeus, etc, having a slender flattened body with a long tail and two pairs of pincers
-
informal to attempt deception
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of prawn
1400–50; late Middle English prane, of uncertain origin
Explanation
A prawn is a crustacean that resembles a big shrimp, with long antennae and a shell. When you see prawns on a menu, just imagine large, juicy shrimp. The words shrimp and prawn are used interchangeably so often that the difference between them has blurred. In many English-speaking parts of the world, prawn is the more common term, while North Americans reserve that word for freshwater shrimp (as opposed to ocean shrimp). Prawn is a common name, rather than a scientific one — if you want to sound knowledgable, you can call this animal a decapod crustacean of the sub-order Dendrobranchiata.
Vocabulary lists containing prawn
Something's Fishy: A Fresh Catch of Aquatic Words
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Amazing Animals, A-Z
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Amazing Animals, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Moore, shopping for a bonfire night party of 22 people, was unable to find any multipacks of her favourite Prawn Cocktail and Salt & Vinegar crisps at the Tesco superstore in Beckton.
From Reuters • Nov. 5, 2021
Barretta, who plays Muppets like Rowlf the Dog and Pepe the King Prawn, said the approach of that sitcom “was too much, too stereotypical of the characters.”
From New York Times • Jul. 23, 2020
Choose small cold-water prawns – best choice, says the MCS – or prawns from the Happy Prawn Co, an ethical company that produces 100% natural and traceable black tiger prawns from Indonesia.
From The Guardian • Nov. 20, 2019
That included Bruce Binkow, 61, a boxing promoter, over his lunch at Prawn Coastal.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 2, 2018
We round the corner, and the Prawn walks toward us from the airlock.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
