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tadpole

American  
[tad-pohl] / ˈtæd poʊl /

noun

  1. the aquatic larva or immature form of frogs and toads, especially after the development of the internal gills and before the appearance of the forelimbs and the resorption of the tail.

tadpole British  
/ ˈtædˌpəʊl /

noun

  1. the aquatic larva of frogs, toads, etc, which develops from a limbless tailed form with external gills into a form with internal gills, limbs, and a reduced tail

"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 tadpole

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English tad(de)pol, equivalent to tad(de) “toad” + pol “head”; toad, poll 1

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.

"This image swirls with light, energy and a feeling of synchronised movement between the lilies and the tadpole tails," said Kathy Moran, Jury Chair and Editor.

From BBC • Oct. 8, 2024

Finally, other animal species, including other mollusks, the common earthworm and even the tadpole stages of frogs, also possess a typhlosole that has not been thoroughly studied before.

From Science Daily • Jun. 5, 2024

In addition, certain character traits are already present in this species at the tadpole stage.

From Science Daily • Nov. 9, 2023

Scientists have compiled many more nematode connectomes, as well as brain maps of a marine annelid worm, a tadpole, a maggot and an adult fruit fly.

From Scientific American • Aug. 21, 2023

Thus a tadpole has the form of a juvenile frog, and its goal, its final cause, is to become an adult frog.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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.