Illustration of three-spined stickleback
- three-spined stickleback
three-spined stickleback
noun
: a stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) chiefly of fresh and brackish waters that typically has three dorsal spines
called also three-spine stickleback
Examples of three-spined stickleback in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The parasitic cestode Schistocephalus solidus requires a much larger host—specifically, a three-spined stickleback fish—to grow in and then a bird to breed in.
—
Madhusree Mukerjee, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2022
The three-spined stickleback, a small fish native to the Northern Hemisphere, looks for physical appeal—but it’s not based on shallow aesthetics.
—Brian Handwerk, National Geographic, 22 Oct. 2020
And its protagonist is a small, unassuming fish – the three-spined stickleback.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 5 Apr. 2012
This rich history has turned the three-spined stickleback into a supermodel of evolutionary biology.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 5 Apr. 2012
If all goes well (for the parasite), a three-spined stickleback then eats the copepod.
—Madhusree Mukerjee, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2022
The spring-fed lake, where Spanish explorers camped in 1776, is now home to natives like the three-spined stickleback fish, western pond turtles, freshwater mussels and chorus frogs that sing in the evening.
—San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Jan. 2017
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Madhusree Mukerjee, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2022
The three-spined stickleback, a small fish native to the Northern Hemisphere, looks for physical appeal—but it’s not based on shallow aesthetics.
—Brian Handwerk, National Geographic, 22 Oct. 2020
And its protagonist is a small, unassuming fish – the three-spined stickleback.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 5 Apr. 2012
This rich history has turned the three-spined stickleback into a supermodel of evolutionary biology.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 5 Apr. 2012
If all goes well (for the parasite), a three-spined stickleback then eats the copepod.
—Madhusree Mukerjee, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2022
The spring-fed lake, where Spanish explorers camped in 1776, is now home to natives like the three-spined stickleback fish, western pond turtles, freshwater mussels and chorus frogs that sing in the evening.
—San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Jan. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Three-spined stickleback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/three-spined%20stickleback. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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