box jellyfish

noun

Updated on: 15 Mar 2018

Definition of box jellyfish

: sea wasp

Recent Examples of box jellyfish from the Web

The analogy here is if Trump argued for the eradication of sharks because of the number of people killed at American beaches — but never talked about the number killed by the box jellyfish.

— philip bump, Washington Post, "Trump seems to think that sharks are ocean terrorists," 19 Jan. 2018
In two separate studies published in the journal Toxins, researchers looked at treatments for both the box jellyfish (some species of which can be fatal in severe cases) and the Portuguese man-of-war.

— ilima loomis, Smithsonian, "Forget What You’ve Heard About the Pee Cure, Here’s How to Really Fix a Jellyfish Sting," 6 June 2017
The box jellyfish grazed my thigh first, before wrapping itself around Sean’s legs below me.

— shannon leone fowler, The Cut, "When Every Relationship Is an Accidental Love Triangle," 31 Aug. 2017

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