starfish

noun

star·fish | \ ˈstär-ˌfish

Definition of starfish

: any of a class (Asteroidea) of echinoderms that have a body of usually five arms radially arranged about a central disk and feed largely on mollusks (such as oysters)

— called also sea star

Examples of starfish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Bertrand Lefebvre of with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Laboratoire de Géologie in Lyon, France, discovered that the millennia-old mystery animal is, in fact, an echinoderm—from the same family as a starfish. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "A 150-Year Old Weird Ancient Animal Mystery, Solved," 22 Feb. 2019 Normally, the starfish contribute to the reef’s diversity by eating faster-growing coral species, which allow for slower-growing species to thrive. — Isabella Kwai, New York Times, "A Voracious Starfish Is Destroying the Great Barrier Reef," 5 Jan. 2018 Time your visit to the hour before or after low tide to explore the beach’s tide pools, teeming with starfish, mollusks and hermit crabs. — Rico Gagliano, WSJ, "3 Quick Escapes From Los Angeles," 1 Aug. 2018 Hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface, some starfish make their own light. — Joanna Klein, New York Times, "Starfish See Pretty Well in the Deep Ocean. By the Way, Starfish Have Eyes.," 7 Feb. 2018 Several years ago, starfish succumbed to a wasting disease and vanished from tide pools. — New York Times, "Orcas of the Pacific Northwest Are Starving and Disappearing," 9 July 2018 Kids can look for starfish, snails, and anemones in the tide pools that form among the rocks at the north end of the beach. — BostonGlobe.com, "The 20 best beaches to visit in New England," 2 May 2018 NewsNearly wiped out by mystery illness, California starfish make... — Peter Fimrite, SFChronicle.com, "Fight brewing over Privates Beach in Santa Cruz County, which charges $100 yearly fee," 12 July 2018 Now my peeve: Laguna puts a lot of emphasis on those tide pools but closes its eyes to the shops in town that sell shells and starfish. — latimes.com, "Protecting tide pools is critical but why not stop selling starfish and shells?," 3 July 2018

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