squid
Other forms: squids
A squid is a sea creature that's similar to an octopus but has ten arms instead of eight—including two extra tentacles they use for grabbing their prey. The largest squid ever found was nearly 60 feet long!
Like their octopus relatives, squid are cephalopods, or mollusks with prominent heads and many arms. Squid can swim extremely fast by sucking in water and propelling it out (just like jet propulsion), and their skin can change color so they blend in with their surroundings. Squid squirt a kind of dark ink to confuse predators; some language experts believe that squid was once sailors' slang for squirt.
Definitions of squid
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widely distributed fast-moving ten-armed cephalopod mollusk having a long tapered body with triangular tail fins
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types:
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loligo
somewhat flattened cylindrical squid
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ommastrephes
extremely active cylindrical squid with short strong arms and large rhombic terminal fins
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architeuthis, giant squid
largest mollusk known about but never seen (to 60 feet long)
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type of:
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decapod
cephalopods having eight short tentacles plus two long ones
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loligo
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(Italian cuisine) squid prepared as food
Pronunciation
US
/skwɪd/
UK
/skwɪd/
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘squid'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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