cuttlefish

noun

cut·​tle·​fish ˈkə-tᵊl-ˌfish 

: any of various marine cephalopod mollusks (order Sepiida, especially genus Sepia) having eight short arms and two usually longer tentacles and differing from the related squid in having a calcified internal shell

Illustration of cuttlefish

Examples of cuttlefish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Now new research has suggested this intelligence extends to how cuttlefish communicate with each other. —Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025

Still, the signals do add to the evidence of how smart cuttlefish are. —Chris Simms, Scientific American, 5 May 2025

And individual cuttlefish seem to choose different preferred hunting displays for different environments. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 20 Feb. 2025

The discovery of the giant cuttlefish alone seems like enough of an accomplishment on which to build an oceanographic career. —Rob Crossan, JSTOR Daily, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cotul + English fish

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cuttlefish

• jellyfish
• sablefish
• bluefish
• catfish
• codfish
• crawfish
• dogfish
• finfish
• flatfish
• goldfish
• groundfish
• kingfish

Kids Definition

cuttlefish

noun

cut·​tle·​fish -ˌfish 

: a marine mollusk having eight short arms and two longer tentacles and differing from the related squid in having an internal shell composed of compounds of calcium