amphipod

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noun am·phi·pod \ -ˌpäd \

Definition of amphipod

:any of a large order (Amphipoda) of small crustaceans (such as the sand flea) with a laterally compressed body

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amphipod

adjective

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Recent Examples of amphipod from the Web

There, White joins a biologist to learn about what lives in the mudflats — mostly tiny amphipods known as mudshrimp, essential food for migrating shorebirds.

— nancy lord, Alaska Dispatch News, "Fascinating book on tides includes Alaska," 12 Aug. 2017
Alistair Poore, associate professor at the University of New South Wales, told the New York Times that the animals in Jarrod's video were not sea lice, but amphipods, but added that they are not known to bite humans.

— Time, "Strange Sea Creatures Chewed Up This Teen Boy's Legs," 7 Aug. 2017
Cystisoma belong to a suborder of marine crustaceans called hyperiid amphipods, which live in every ocean, from just below the surface to right near the floor.

— emily underwood, Smithsonian, "The Master of Disguise of the Ocean Reveals Its Secrets," 2 May 2017
The researches sent small probes to the depths of these trenches to capture the small animals, called amphipods, that live there.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Even the Deepest Depths of the Ocean Are Polluted," 15 Feb. 2017
Paraphromina, another clear amphipod, has unique compound eyes, which look like rows of runway lights that face both upward and sideways.

— National Geographic, "This Animal's Eye Makes Up Almost Half of Its Body," 20 Aug. 2016
But some tiny marine animals, such as some hyperiid amphipods, clearly come out ahead.

— National Geographic, "This Animal's Eye Makes Up Almost Half of Its Body," 20 Aug. 2016
The only life Cameron saw at that depth were some tiny amphipods, shrimplike bottom feeders.

— brian clark howard, National Geographic, "Haunting Whale Sounds Emerge From Ocean's Deepest Point," 5 Mar. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'amphipod.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.