urchin
a mischievous boy.
any small boy or youngster.
either of two small rollers covered with card clothing used in conjunction with the cylinder in carding.
Chiefly British Dialect. a hedgehog.
Obsolete. an elf or mischievous sprite.
Origin of urchin
1Other words for urchin
Words Nearby urchin
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use urchin in a sentence
Clements and his colleagues realized no one had ever described this urchin behavior.
Urchin mobs can literally dis-arm a predator | Jake Buehler | June 29, 2021 | Science News For StudentsNormally, otters would eat enough of them to keep populations of kelp-eating urchins from growing out of control.
Urchin takeover underlies California’s vanishing kelp forests | Anushree Dave | May 7, 2021 | Science News For StudentsEven the urchins are plumper and healthier — a reminder that all life depends on diversity.
Humanity’s greatest ally against climate change is the Earth itself | Sarah Kaplan | April 22, 2021 | Washington PostThe nutrient-rich urchins in the healthy kelp make a far better sea otter snack.
How kelp forests off California are responding to an urchin takeover | Anushree Dave | March 29, 2021 | Science NewsThe latest offering is The Irregulars, a new supernatural drama from Netflix, that focuses on the ragtag group of street urchins the Baker Street sleuth often relied upon to gather useful information.
Sherlock Holmes takes a back seat to street kids in The Irregulars trailer | Jennifer Ouellette | March 19, 2021 | Ars Technica
Despite enjoying singing, and a tiny role as ‘urchin No. 30’ in a production of Oliver!
I had everything from raw hamachi with sea urchin to lamb tongue.
So saying the lively urchin grasped his new friend by the hand and led him by a rickety staircase to the “rookeries” above.
The Garret and the Garden | R.M. BallantyneAmy actually almost fell out of the window again, and stuck out her tongue like an impudent urchin.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn | Margaret PenroseThe spell was broken, and Mr. Carr took out his watch as he turned his eyes on a ragged urchin who had called to him from below.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodThis led to the discovery that the young urchin had been on a most successful forage for a dinner that morning.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousKatie said this with a still darker frown; for she thought that the urchin was jesting.
The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands | R.M. Ballantyne
British Dictionary definitions for urchin
/ (ˈɜːtʃɪn) /
a mischievous roguish child, esp one who is young, small, or raggedly dressed
See sea urchin, heart urchin
an archaic or dialect name for a hedgehog
either of the two cylinders in a carding machine that are covered with carding cloth
obsolete an elf or sprite
Origin of urchin
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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