starfish

noun

star·​fish ˈstär-ˌfish 

: 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

The 57-acre Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center on Hutchinson Island is home to touch tanks of sea creatures like stingrays and starfish, plus 300 other sea animals. —Kelsey Glennon, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025

Using a submersible, researchers filmed networks of anemones, starfish, and other marine life living on these weapons. —Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025

Amelia Hildt, 3, was busy looking around for a pelican and a starfish. —Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 25 Sep. 2025

The actress, 37, also wore nostalgic flip-flop wedges — all that was missing were her complementary starfish studs! —Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for starfish

• bluefish
• catfish
• codfish
• crawfish
• dogfish
• finfish
• flatfish
• goldfish
• groundfish
• kingfish
• offish
• redfish

Kids Definition

starfish

noun

star·​fish ˈstär-ˌfish 

: any of a class of echinoderms that have five arms arranged evenly around a central disk and feed largely on mollusks (as oysters)