barnacle.

1. A marine crustacean that usually fixes itself to a surface as an adult and feeds with feathery limbs.

2. A northern goose more fully called the barnacle goose, not the shell-covered animal attached to rocks.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• barnacle-covered rocks
• barnacles on a hull
• scrape off barnacles

On the page

Barnacles formed a pale crust along the boat’s waterline.

The whale surfaced with barnacles clustered on its skin.

The old bird guide places the barnacle among the northern geese.

Here, the barnacles feeding in the meadow are birds, not shell-covered animals.

Usage notes

Countable noun: barnacle, barnacles. Historical or shortened bird usage is distinct from the common marine meaning. Register: neutral. Commonness: moderately common; the goose name is uncommon (dictionary-informed qualitative editorial estimate; not a measured frequency).