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

And finally, there were arthropods, insects, and crustaceans, and so on. —Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025

There are indications that arthropods are in decline in North America. —Bruce Beehler, Baltimore Sun, 17 Aug. 2025

Shope virus is spread primarily through the bite of an arthropod, such as ticks and mosquitoes, and can lead to the development of wart-like tumors on an infected animal’s head, face and around the mouth. —Matthew Binnicker, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025

The species was previously thought to represent an ancestral member of a specific group of arthropods called chelicerates that lived during the Cambrian period -- between 540 and 485 million years ago. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 23 July 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