sea urchin

American  

noun

1. any echinoderm of the class Echinoidea, having a somewhat globular or discoid form, and a shell composed of many calcareous plates covered with projecting spines.

2. a tall evergreen shrub or small tree, Hakea laurina, of Australia, having narrow leaves and dense, globe-shaped clusters of crimson flowers with long yellow stamens.

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sea urchin British  

noun

1. any echinoderm of the class Echinoidea, such as Echinus esculentus ( edible sea urchin ), typically having a globular body enclosed in a rigid spiny test and occurring in shallow marine waters

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Etymology

Origin of sea urchin

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

Her fossilized sea urchin, from a beach on the Red Sea, “responds by radiating its own inner joy at being found and loved too,” whispering: “We are two cyclical beings, each with their own story.”

From The Wall Street Journal

In turn, sea urchins are an important food source for many marine mammals, fish, crustaceans, and sea stars.

From Science Daily

The robot plucked sea stars and sea urchins and sea snails from the water and dropped them into rock pools along the shore.

From Literature

Visitors to Puglia, a major producer of durum wheat, can try handmade pastas in a variety of shapes, paired with broccoli rabe, sea urchin and even a horse ragù.

From The Wall Street Journal

But when wasting disease in effect wiped out their main predator, the sea urchins exploded in number, decimating kelp forests and transforming once-lush underwater habitats into so-called urchin barrens.

From Los Angeles Times