Octopus

Quick meaning: Octopus is a noun meaning (countable, strictly) A mollusc from genus Octopus.

Meaning

(countable, strictly) A mollusc from genus Octopus.

More Meanings

1. (uncountable) The flesh of these marine molluscs eaten as food.
2. (countable) An organization that has many powerful branches controlled from the centre.
3. (countable, diving) A safety device allowing divers to share an air supply in an emergency.
4. To put (or attempt to put) one's fingers, hands or arms in many things or places at roughly the same time.
5. To spread out in long arms or legs in many directions.
6. (countable, loosely) Any of several marine molluscs of the order Octopoda, having no internal or external protective shell or bone (unlike the nautilus, squid and cuttlefish) and eight arms each covered with suckers.
7. (American football, informal) An instance of a player scoring a touchdown immediately followed by a successful two-point conversion, resulting in a total score of eight points.

Example Sentences

The bug-eyed press octopussed to their respective word processors.

He rises up on his wasted legs, the healer's hands octopussed on his head.

Dirt roads octopussed into the interior, where there were more dried mud and shrivelled crops.

Even octopuses without stylets almost certainly retain the molecular machinery necessary to build them.

Word Forms

• octopuses
• octopusses
• octopi
• octopii
• octopodes
• octopussing
• octopusing
• octopussed
• octopused

Synonyms for octopus

Depending on context, synonyms include polypus, devilfish.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include devilfish, squid, hen, chicken, powder, poulp.

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