barnacle

bar·na·cle | \ ˈbär-ni-kəl

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Definition of barnacle

1 : barnacle goose

2 [from a popular belief that the goose grew from the crustacean] : any of numerous marine crustaceans (subclass Cirripedia) with feathery appendages for gathering food that are free-swimming as larvae but permanently fixed (as to rocks, boat hulls, or whales) as adults

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Examples of barnacle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web If wave action is heavy, barnacle penises can thicken in both the muscles and the surrounding tissue, and the length can increase through the addition of more rings to the penile Slinky. — Emily Willingham, Wired, "Does a Millipede Have a Penis? Well ... Define 'Penis'," 22 Sep. 2020 Love-blind barnacles whispering sweet nothings into the Buffoon-in-chief’s bum. — J.d. Crowe | Jdcrowe@al.com, al, "Alabama GOP Sycophant race: Kiss-off between Sessions and Tuberville," 4 Mar. 2020 Likely to a temp job of her own, sitting in for some other barnacle. — Parul Sehgal, New York Times, "‘Temporary’ Is a Debut Novel That Leans Into the Absurdity of How We Work Now," 25 Feb. 2020 Black, spherical, and several feet across, the object is encrusted with barnacles and marine algae. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Mysterious Military Mine Washes Ashore in North Carolina," 25 Mar. 2020 That’s because microbes like bacteria and archaea coat surfaces in a sticky layer, a biofilm, that functions as a chemical and physical come-hither call for larger creatures such as barnacles and coral, Dr. Hamdan said. — Katherine Kornei, New York Times, "Microbes Point the Way to Shipwrecks," 21 Feb. 2020 Everything’s just gone — crabs, oysters, barnacles, and plankton. — Tim Pearce, Washington Examiner, "Florida mayor pleads for help after city swamped in 211M gallons of sewage," 18 Feb. 2020 The greater variety of seaweeds, barnacles, and other filter feeders will, in turn, attract larger creatures, like crabs and fish, creating a vibrant ecosystem. — Lindsey J. Smith, Smithsonian, "Designing Floating Buildings With an Eye to the Marine Species Living Underneath," 7 Oct. 2019 Know of a 50-year-old schooner collecting barnacles somewhere? — Tyler Blint-welsh, WSJ, "New York City Hunts for Historic Ship for Waterfront Park," 16 Feb. 2020

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

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“Barnacle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barnacle. Accessed 15 Jan. 2021.

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