sea cucumber

American  

noun

1. any echinoderm of the class Holothuroidea, having a long, leathery body with tentacles around the anterior end.

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sea cucumber British  

noun

1. any echinoderm of the class Holothuroidea, having an elongated body covered with a leathery skin and bearing a cluster of tentacles at the oral end. They usually creep on the sea bed or burrow in sand

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sea cucumber Scientific  

1. See holothurian

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Etymology

Origin of sea cucumber

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

There's a bone-white lobster, suctioned up for examination at the surface, and a horned sea cucumber whose mast-like spikes collapse into black spaghetti when it arrives on the ship.

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

At Wing, he serves sea cucumber inside a crispy spring roll, dramatically sliced tableside with a Chinese cleaver.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 18, 2025

Tennis star Taylor Townsend is sorry for criticizing unfamiliar foods on offer while in China for a tournament — dishes including frog, turtle and sea cucumber.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2025

But the brown sea cucumber — Isostichopus fuscus — is overfished, and that’s cause for regulations around their harvest.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 1, 2023

My attention span and my motivation rank up there with that of a sea cucumber.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman