cuttlebone

[ kuht-l-bohn ]
/ ˈkʌt lˌboʊn /

noun

the calcareous internal shell of cuttlefishes, used to make powder for polishing and fed to canaries and other pet birds to supply their diet with lime.

Origin of cuttlebone

First recorded in 1805–15; cuttle(fish) + bone

Words nearby cuttlebone

cutting horse, cutting oil, cutting room, cutting stylus, cuttle, cuttlebone, cuttlefish, cutty, cutty grass, cutty sark, cutty stool

Example sentences from the Web for cuttlebone

  • There were crushed pieces of calcined material that looked like cuttlebone.

    Stamped Caution |Raymond Zinke Gallun

  • Of such is the cuttlebone of commerce, which is a calcareous leaf-like body obtained from Sepia, the cuttlefish.

    The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide |Augusta Foote Arnold

British Dictionary definitions for cuttlebone

cuttlebone
/ (ˈkʌtəlˌbəʊn) /

noun

the internal calcareous shell of the cuttlefish, used as a mineral supplement to the diet of cage-birds and as a polishing agent