crustacean

noun

crus·​ta·​cean ˌkrə-ˈstā-shən 

: any of a large class (Crustacea) of mostly aquatic mandibulate arthropods that have a chitinous or calcareous and chitinous exoskeleton, a pair of often much modified appendages on each segment, and two pairs of antennae and that include the lobsters, shrimp, crabs, wood lice, water fleas, and barnacles

crustacean adjective

Examples of crustacean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Even before a lobster roll gets assembled in the kitchen, the restaurant has to acquire its crustaceans. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 13 Sep. 2023

So far, the bill dignifies vertebrates, decapod crustaceans (crabs and lobsters), and cephalopods (squids and octopuses), but not a single conscious bee. —Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023

Maine's favorite crustacean is still active through autumn, as are the marine mammals among them. —Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 3 Aug. 2023

Today’s blue whales eat tiny crustaceans called krill. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 2 Aug. 2023

These are in turn eaten by animals called zooplankton, including small crustaceans and fish larvae. —WIRED, 2 Aug. 2023

Krill oil is made from the tiny, omega-3-rich crustaceans that fatty fish eat to become EPA and DHA-rich. —Willow Jarosh, Ms, Rd, Health, 22 Aug. 2023

Party-planning guru Bronson van Wyck, for his part, recommends busting out of the red-and-green paradigm, and has decked out his client’s trees with outré motifs ranging from crustaceans to Noah’s ark. —Anna Fixsen, ELLE Decor, 18 Aug. 2023

The little crustaceans cook in under five minutes, minimizing the amount of time that stands between you and sitting at the table. —Zoe Denenberg, Bon Appétit, 19 July 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

crustacean

noun

crus·​ta·​cean ˌkrəs-ˈtā-shən 

: any of a large class of mostly water-dwelling arthropods (as lobsters, shrimps, crabs, wood lice, water fleas, and barnacles) having an exoskeleton of chitin or chitin and a compound of calcium

crustacean adjective