wood louse

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noun Zoology.

any of certain small, terrestrial crustaceans of the genera Oniscus, Armadillidium, etc., having a flattened, elliptical body.

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The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

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Origin of wood louse

First recorded in 1605–15

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use wood louse in a sentence

Woodlouse looked on for some time with the greatest satisfaction, until the idea struck him that he would clear the room.
Garman and Worse|Alexander Lange Kielland
The fresh wind had a cooling effect on them all, and on Woodlouse's suggestion a truce was concluded.
Garman and Worse|Alexander Lange Kielland
Woodlouse and the Swede looked at each other meaningly, and each went his way without saying a word.
Garman and Worse|Alexander Lange Kielland
I have had occasion to mention once before an extremely interesting genus of blind Woodlouse, viz., Platyarthrus.
The History of the European Fauna|R. F. Scharff

So the poor old Woodlouse retreated out of sight, consumed with shame.
Sketches New and Old, Complete|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

British Dictionary definitions for wood louse

woodlouse

/ (ˈwʊdˌlaʊs) /

noun plural -lice (-ˌlaɪs)

any of various small terrestrial isopod crustaceans of the genera Oniscus, Porcellio, etc, which have a flattened segmented body and occur in damp habitatsSee also pill bug

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