MEANING
A marine mollusk with a distinct head and arms or tentacles, such as an octopus, squid, cuttlefish, or nautilus.
Use it for
grouping squid and octopuses; describing marine animals with arms around the head; distinguishing these mollusks from shelled bivalvesGroups octopuses, squid, cuttlefish, and nautiluses without confusing them with fish or crustaceans. Writing functions: Head-and-arm mollusk group.
Words that belong together
- cephalopod behavior
- cephalopod intelligence
- cephalopod camouflage
On the page
The exhibit compared the eyes of several cephalopods.
She studied cephalopod camouflage through observations of squid and cuttlefish.
Word forms
- Base
- cephalopod
Usage notes
Countable noun: cephalopod, cephalopods. Also an adjective with the same form; cephalopodan is related. Register: technical. Commonness: moderately common in nature writing (dictionary-informed qualitative editorial estimate; not a measured frequency).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
Keep a thought for later. Sign in to save privately.