sea hare

American

noun

any gastropod of the order Aplysiacea, comprising large marine sluglike mollusks with a reduced, internal shell.

sea hare British

noun

any of various marine gastropods of the order Aplysiomorpha (or Anaspidea ), esp Aplysia punctata, having a soft body with an internal shell and two pairs of earlike tentacles

"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

Etymology

Origin of sea hare

First recorded in 1585–95

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.

If a sea hare is threatened or attacked, a siphon inside its mantle cavity will pump one or both of these secretions out into the surrounding water to act as a decoy or a repellent.

From Scientific American • Dec. 26, 2013

The DNA sequence of the oyster will be compared with other mollusc genomes, including the California sea hare and the giant owl limpet.

From BBC • Sep. 20, 2012

A genus of marine mollusks of the order Tectibranchiata; the sea hare.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023