abalone

American  

[ab-uh-loh-nee] / ˌæb əˈloʊ ni /

noun

• abalones
  plural

1. a large mollusk of the genus Haliotis, having a bowllike shell bearing a row of respiratory holes, the flesh of which is used for food and the shell for ornament and as a source of mother-of-pearl.

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abalone British  

/ ˌæbəˈləʊnɪ /

noun

1. Also called: ear shell.  any of various edible marine gastropod molluscs of the genus Haliotis, having an ear-shaped shell that is perforated with a row of respiratory holes. The shells are used for ornament or decoration See also ormer

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• abalones
  plural

Etymology

Origin of abalone

1840–50, taken as singular of California Spanish abulones, plural of abulón, aulón < a word in Rumsen, a Costanoan language formerly spoken at Monterey, California

Explanation

An abalone is a mollusk found in warm seas. Abalones have an ear-shaped shell with a pearly interior. It hardly seems fair that this large mollusk is only one syllable away from being baloney, since the two words are unrelated. The pearly interior of the abalone — which yields mother-of-pearl — makes this animal quite a prize, since mother-of-pearl is used in many types of jewelry. The abalone is part of the genus Haliotis: because of its ear-shaped shell, it is also known as a sea ear or ear shell. Other mollusks include squid, clams, and octopuses.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

abalone abalones

For commercial abalone farmers, “four years is a long time to raise a shellfish to the size of a duck’s egg.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Visiting one celebrated restaurant in San Francisco, he describes the preparation of commercially farmed abalone steaks as someone who knows his way around a commercial kitchen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The coastal waters are used by tribal people for seaweed and abalone gathering, and the shores host youth cultural camps, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026

Kim Namin, 29, runs a seasoned gim processing factory with a 30-year family history in Wando, an island in South Korea's southern waters known for abalone and seaweed production.

From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026

My mouth drops open as a shimmering purple-and-blue abalone sky comes into view through the cockpit window.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

He recalled dishes considered delicacies such as donkey meat and abalones - a type of mollusc - being flown in from Pyongyang.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2023

“Chinese people like to eat these expensive foods like sea cucumbers and abalones at our Lunar New Year family gatherings because we have worked very hard over the past year,” Fong said.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 30, 2022

The traditional dish known as “poon choi,” or “basin food,” is a large dish filled with lotus root, radish, taro and more expensive delicacies such as prawns, abalones and meat layered on top.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 30, 2022

For centuries, fishermen have carved their homes into the bluffs, like bird’s nests, plucking abalones and sailing out for bamboo crabs.

From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2016

Then I went to the reef for abalones.

From "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell

Related Words

• mollusk