octopus

CEFRB1

/ˈɒktəpʊs/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A sea animal with eight arms and a soft body.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A mollusc from genus Octopus.

Examples

  • That octopus returned to the sea without being eaten.

  • The octopus is in the sea.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The flesh of these marine molluscs eaten as food.

  2. 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.

  3. An organization that has many powerful branches controlled from the centre.

More examples

In context

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

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

  • Night fell especially dark and cold for August, inky blackness tendrilling in, octopussing even the street lamps, now dim with vague form.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank used its eight tentacles to open the jar and get the food.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Latin octōpūs, from Ancient Greek ὀκτώπους (oktṓpous), from ὀκτώ (oktṓ, “eight”) + πούς (poús, “foot”). Piecewise doublet of octopod and octopede.