: any of numerous marine bivalve lamellibranch mollusks (family Pectinidae) that have a radially ribbed shell with the edge undulated and that swim by opening and closing the valves
b
: the adductor muscle of a scallop as an article of food
2
a
: a valve or shell of a scallop
b
: a baking dish shaped like a valve of a scallop
3
: one of a continuous series of circle segments or angular projections forming a border (as on cloth or metal)
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Noun
Texture comes into play here, as well, with wispy nests of friable katayifi topping each scallop.—Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2025 The Keys Mixed Grill plate gives diners a taste of lobster, shrimp, scallops, and mahi.—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 27 Aug. 2025
Verb
In summer months, locals and visitors love scalloping, the underwater equivalent of a giant Easter egg hunt.—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2025 Current menu highlights include chilli and garlic shell-on king prawns, and Folkestone scallops.—Joanne Shurvell, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for scallop
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English scalop, from Anglo-French escalope shell, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch schelpe shell
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