stingray
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of stingray
Explanation
Stingrays are sea creatures that are closely related to sharks. If you're snorkeling in the Cayman Islands and see a large, flattened fish with a long tail and eyes on top of its body, you're looking at a stingray. Like their shark cousins, stingrays have cartilage instead of bones; stingrays look completely different from sharks, though. Stingrays' bodies are shaped like a rounded diamond, and their gills are on their underside. Their venomous tails are dangerous, giving them the sting part of their name—but most stingrays are shy and docile, and safe to swim near as long as you don't step on them.
Vocabulary lists containing stingray
Marine Biology - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Marine Biology - Middle School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Marine Biology - High School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Steve Irwin died aged 44 after being stung by a stingray while filming on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2025
Avoid the next encounter with a stingray or jellyfish, and instead explore the depths of the news in this week’s Slate News Quiz.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2025
The inside of a myliobatid stingray tail is remarkably complex, the scientists learned.
From Salon ● Feb. 10, 2025
Nwodim, dressed in a huge stingray costume, immediately implicated “Weekend Update” co-host Michael Che as the father of the “little Che Ray” she plans to have.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2024
Not a stingray, not a manta ray, but an electric ray.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
We can only hope that, through snakes, stingrays, slings and arrows, Paul Rosolie is spared to continue his quest to preserve it for all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
There are also interactive touch pools for invertebrates and stingrays.
From Salon ● Mar. 30, 2025
They feed on the abundant stingrays — the true wildlife threat for beachgoers in the Southland — but otherwise mind their own business.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2025
Round stingrays like Charlotte are abundant on the Pacific coasts of southern California and Mexico, often resting on the ocean’s sandy bottom near the shoreline.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
Holding hands, we swim farther out and see gliding stingrays that look like giant white-bellied birds.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
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.
