mussel

noun

mus·sel | \ ˈmə-səl

Definition of mussel

1 : a marine bivalve mollusk (especially genus Mytilus) usually having a dark elongated shell

2 : a freshwater bivalve mollusk (as of Unio, Anodonta, or related genera) that is especially abundant in rivers of the central U.S. and has a shell lined with mother-of-pearl

Examples of mussel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Here is a tidal pool, with limpets resembling cocktail umbrellas, beds of blue-shelled mussels and feathery shrimp that seem to gallop through the brine; elsewhere, the splendid flourish of the dreaded giant squid. — Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, "What to Give: Children’s Books," 15 Nov. 2018 The menu will have dishes like mussels with herbs, seafood soup, ratatouille, and gnocchi. — Grace Wong, chicagotribune.com, "El Santo Taqueria brings LA-style tacos and salads to Albany Park, plus other restaurant news," 23 Apr. 2018 Try a buttery smooth rib-eye steak or the piping-hot mussels with merguez sausage. — OregonLive.com, "Palm Springs is an ideal spot for sun, sand and seeing tennis stars," 21 Feb. 2018 Think of the foods that are abundant in the Pacific Northwest: salmon, halibut, cod, shellfish, clams, mussels, oysters, seaweed. — Sandy M. Fernandez, Woman's Day, "How Three Women Are Pioneering to End Hunger in the U.S.," 14 Nov. 2018 Local ingredients feature prominently on the menu, which includes pasta, pizza, and seafood (including a knockout mussels dish). — Diana Oates, Condé Nast Traveler, "20 Best Restaurants in Houston," 1 Oct. 2018 One-third of wildlife species in the U.S. are at risk of extinction, 40% of the nation's freshwater fish are rare or imperiled and 70% of freshwater mussel species are extinct or near extinction, for example. — Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Smith: Wildlife groups push bill to restore non-game species," 18 Apr. 2018 No mussels were damaged or hurt during the project. — Angela Chen, The Verge, "How slime molds and mussels could be the future of architecture," 27 Nov. 2018 Starfish feed on a variety of invertebrates, including mussels, sea urchins, clams and snails. — Peter Fimrite, SFChronicle.com, "Starfish on California coast, nearly wiped out by mystery illness, make stunning recovery," 22 June 2018

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