mollusk

or mol·lusc

[ mol-uh sk ]
/ ˈmɒl əsk /

noun

any invertebrate of the phylum Mollusca, typically having a calcareous shell of one, two, or more pieces that wholly or partly enclose the soft, unsegmented body, including the chitons, snails, bivalves, squids, and octopuses.

Origin of mollusk

1775–85; < French mollusque < New Latin Mollusca; see Mollusca

OTHER WORDS FROM mollusk

mol·lus·kan, mol·lus·can [muh-luhs-kuh n] /məˈlʌs kən/, adjective, noun mol·lusk·like, adjective

Words nearby mollusk

mollusca, molluscoid, molluscous, molluscum, molluscum contagiosum, mollusk, mollusks, mollweide projection, molly, molly maguire, molly miller

Example sentences from the Web for molluscs

Scientific definitions for molluscs

mollusk

Any of numerous invertebrate animals of the phylum Mollusca, usually living in water and often having a hard outer shell. They have a muscular foot, a well-developed circulatory and nervous system, and often complex eyes. Mollusks include gastropods (snails and shellfish), slugs, octopuses, squids, and the extinct ammonites. Mollusks appear in the fossil record in the early Cambrian Period, but it is not known from what group they evolved.