sea urchin

noun

: any of numerous echinoderms (class Echinoidea) that are usually enclosed in thin brittle globular tests covered with movable spines

Examples of sea urchin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Kick off with a wasabi martini, follow with wagyu, sea urchin and caviar nigiri, or a spiny lobster thermidor, Izumi-style. Lysanne Currie, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025 Its other offerings will include a wagyu burger, roasted chicken and Santa Barbara sea urchin. Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 11 June 2025 Sea otters help keep kelp forests healthy by eating sea urchins, which would otherwise destroy the kelp. Avery Schuyler Nunn, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Apr. 2025 Shaped like underwater organisms including corals, jellyfish, and even a bejeweled sea urchin (seen here), the light fixtures echo the natural motifs and fluid lines of the Art Nouveau movement. Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 30 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sea urchin

Word History

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sea urchin was in 1591

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Cite this Entry

“Sea urchin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sea%20urchin. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

sea urchin

noun
: any of a class of small marine invertebrate animals that are echinoderms, usually live on or burrow in the sea bottom, and are enclosed in roundish shells covered with spines that can move

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