Main Entry: ¹shrimp

Pronunciation: \ˈshrimp, especially Southern ˈsrimp\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural shrimps or shrimp

Etymology: Middle English shrimpe; akin to Middle Low German schrempen to contract, wrinkle, Old Norse skorpna to shrivel up

Date: 14th century

1 : any of numerous mostly small and marine decapod crustaceans (suborders Dendrobranchiata and Pleocyemata) having a slender elongated body, a compressed abdomen, and a long spiny rostrum and including some (especially family Penaeidae) that are commercially important as food; also : a small crustacean (as an amphipod or a branchiopod) resembling the true shrimps
2 : a very small or puny person or thing

— shrimp·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

— shrimpy \ˈshrim-pē, ˈsrim-\ adjective