seahorse
Americannoun
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seahorses
plural
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any fish of the genus Hippocampus, of the pipefish family, having a prehensile tail, an elongated snout, and a head bent at right angles to the body.
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a fabled marine animal with the foreparts of a horse and the hind parts of a fish.
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a walrus.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of seahorse
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English sehors, possibly meaning “walrus”; compare German Seeross; see origin at sea ( def. ), horse
Explanation
A seahorse is a tiny fish with a vaguely horse-shaped head. Seahorses swim upright, with their curled tails pointing down. Seahorses look different from most fish, with hard, bony exteriors and long snouts. They're also different from almost all other animals because male seahorses give birth to babies, after carrying eggs deposited by the female. The scientific genus of seahorses is Hippocampus, from the Ancient Greek words hippos, "horse," and kampos, "sea monster." There's also a section of the human brain called the hippocampus, named for its resemblance to the seahorse.
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.
See Examples For:
Posting on the website, they provide information about which species of seahorse, when and where in the world they saw it, its habitat, and its depth.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 25, 2024
Talia Greis, from Australia, won Macro, with an abstract portrait of a potbelly seahorse in the murky waters near Bare Island, Sydney.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2024
In 2020, these seahorses were named the second most endangered kind of seahorse in the world.
From NewsForKids.net ● Aug. 3, 2023
He’s had a mermaid visit him, and spotted a seahorse on a recent scuba diving expedition.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2023
Handsome Lord Velaryon chose sea-green silk, the white gold seahorse at his throat matching his long fair hair.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Thousands of birds and seahorses were killed as a result, ecologist Vladyslav Belinsky said.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
But even this strange new world isn’t beyond the reach of Evie’s siblings, who follow their sister on seahorses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
In college, I hung paper seahorses from the ceiling and handwrote poems which I taped below the window by my bed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2025
Creating marine protected areas for Australian seahorses, for example, had meant more of them were eaten as their natural predators' populations had increased.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2024
“We will march into the sea and out again. Under the waves we will ride seahorses, and mermaids will blow seashells to announce our coming, oh, oh, oh.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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