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crawfish

/ˌkrɔˈfɪʃ/
/ˈkrɔfɪʃ/
IPA guide

Other forms: crawfishes; crawfishing; crawfished

A crawfish is a freshwater shellfish that resembles a small lobster, making it both tiny and tasty to seafood lovers.

Crawfish, also known as crayfish or crawdads, are small crustaceans living in freshwater habitats like streams and swamps. They play a key role in the ecosystem by feeding on plants and animals, helping to keep their environment balanced and clean. In the Southern United States, crawfish are a culinary favorite, especially in crawfish boils where they are seasoned and cooked in large pots.

Definitions of crawfish
  1. noun
    small freshwater decapod crustacean that resembles a lobster
    synonyms: crawdad, crawdaddy, crayfish
    see moresee less
    types:
    Old World crayfish, ecrevisse
    small crayfish of Europe and Asia and western North America
    American crayfish
    common large crayfishes of eastern North America
    type of:
    decapod, decapod crustacean
    crustaceans characteristically having five pairs of locomotor appendages each joined to a segment of the thorax
  2. noun
    tiny lobster-like crustaceans usually boiled briefly
    synonyms: crawdad, crayfish, ecrevisse
    see moresee less
    type of:
    shellfish
    meat of edible aquatic invertebrate with a shell (especially a mollusk or crustacean)
  3. noun
    large edible marine crustacean having a spiny carapace but lacking the large pincers of true lobsters
    see moresee less
    type of:
    lobster
    any of several edible marine crustaceans of the families Homaridae and Nephropsidae and Palinuridae
  4. verb
    make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity
    “We'll have to crawfish out from meeting with him”
    draw back, move back, pull away, pull back, recede, retire, retreat, withdraw
    pull back or move away or backward
Pronunciation
US
/ˌkrɔˈfɪʃ/
UK
/ˈkrɔfɪʃ/
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