retractile
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- nonretractile adjective
- nonretractility noun
- retractility noun
- subretractile adjective
Etymology
Origin of retractile
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.
The jaws were widely extended, so that the sharp retractile teeth were plainly visible, and the forked tongue at intervals was shot forward, and gleamed in the sun.
From The Young Yagers A Narrative of Hunting Adventures in Southern Africa by Reid, Mayne
There is also in some genera a median retractile sensory papilla on the dorsal posterior surface above the rectum, not covered by the cuticle.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 2 "Chicago, University of" to "Chiton" by Various
Mantle oval, covering the head and the greater part of the body; anterior tentacles, ill-developed; branchiae generally retractile.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various
Most species have sharp, curved claws, often retractile between some of the lamellae or into a special sheath.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various
The brownish fins were rigid as metal, the retractile claws unsheathed and cruelly curved.
From The Terror from the Depths by Wright, Sewell Peaslee
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.
