mollusk
noun
Simple meaning
Invertebrate having a soft unsegmented body usually enclosed in a shell.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
mahluhskSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmɑləsk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
American spelling
Invertebrate having a soft unsegmented body usually enclosed in a shell
American spelling
A soft-bodied invertebrate of the phylum Mollusca, typically with a hard shell of one or more pieces.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: Invertebrate having a soft unsegmented body usually enclosed in a shell
Used this way, mollusk is a word tied to one variety of English that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. Most speakers understand it but seldom reach for it.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Regional
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Uncommon in everyday speech
Usage note
Mainly used in American English, so it may read as unusual elsewhere.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A family of mollusks.
Marine mollusk characterized by well-developed head and eyes and sucker-bearing tentacles.
Cephalopods having two gills.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.