arthropod

noun

ar·​thro·​pod ˈär-thrə-ˌpäd 

: any of a phylum (Arthropoda) of invertebrate animals (such as insects, arachnids, and crustaceans) that have a segmented body and jointed appendages, a usually chitinous exoskeleton molted at intervals, and a dorsal anterior brain connected to a ventral chain of ganglia

arthropod adjective

arthropodan

är-ˈthrä-pə-dən 

adjective

Examples of arthropod in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Signs Of Dust Mites And Allergens Dust mites are microscopic arthropods that live in almost every home. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 15 Jan. 2026

Michigan's wet, cold weather is revealing springtails, ancient arthropods typically found on snow piles during the winter. —Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 13 Jan. 2026

Paleontologists have found fossils of horseshoe-crab-like arthropods stretching back hundreds of millions of years. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 7 Jan. 2026

The fossil will hopefully help scientists trace the development of modern-day arthropods, and reveal how their simpler ancestors developed the complex anatomies of the creatures that exist today. —Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 8 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from base of New Latin Arthropoda, group name, from arthro- arthro- + -poda, neuter plural of Greek -podos -pod

Note: The taxon Arthropoda, "those with jointed limbs," was introduced by the German zoologist Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold (1804-85) in Lehrbuch der vergleichenden Anatomie, von v. Siebold und Stannius [Hermann Friedrich Stannius], Erster Teil, Wirbellose Thiere, von C. Th. v. Siebold (Berlin, 1848), p. 4. Note that the first part of the Lehrbuch was published after the second part, released in 1846, an irregularity that has resulted in Arthropoda being incorrectly dated to that year, and credited to both Stannius and von Siebold. See the discussion in Thomas A. Hegna, et al., "The correct authorship of the taxon name 'Arthropoda'," Arthropod Systematics and Phylogeny, vol. 71, no. 2 (November 19, 2013), pp. 71-74.

First Known Use

1857, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for arthropod

• amphipod
• copepod
• decapod
• endopod
• escalade
• esplanade
• exopod
• gastropod
• goldenrod
• isopod
• overawed
• overbroad

Kids Definition

arthropod

noun

ar·​thro·​pod ˈär-thrə-ˌpäd 

: any of a phylum of invertebrate animals (as insects, arachnids, and crustaceans) having a segmented body, jointed limbs, and a shell of chitin that is shed periodically

arthropod adjective