variants
or mollusc
: any of a large phylum (Mollusca) of invertebrate animals (such as snails, clams, or squids) with a soft unsegmented body usually enclosed in a calcareous shell
broadly
: shellfish
Examples of mollusk in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These tiny dark-yellowish mollusks, native to rivers in China and Southeast Asia, have already wreaked havoc in South America, and for years have kept officials and ecologists across the United States on high alert.
—
Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
It’s long been believed that the first of these animals sported a single, simple shell—but a new fossil, described this week in Science, suggests early mollusks were flat slugs with spiny armor instead.
—Molly Herring, science.org, 2 Aug. 2024
For example, arthropods, mollusks, and chordates appeared during this period.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024
Assembling genomes for octopuses, squid and other mollusks has been a serious technical challenge until recently, explains Rebekah Rogers, a genome biologist at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, who was not involved in the study.
—Viviane Callier, Scientific American, 3 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mollusk 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
It’s long been believed that the first of these animals sported a single, simple shell—but a new fossil, described this week in Science, suggests early mollusks were flat slugs with spiny armor instead.
—Molly Herring, science.org, 2 Aug. 2024
For example, arthropods, mollusks, and chordates appeared during this period.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024
Assembling genomes for octopuses, squid and other mollusks has been a serious technical challenge until recently, explains Rebekah Rogers, a genome biologist at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, who was not involved in the study.
—Viviane Callier, Scientific American, 3 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mollusk
Articles Related to mollusk
Dictionary Entries Near mollusk
Cite this Entry
“Mollusk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mollusk. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mollusk
noun
mol·lusk
variants
or mollusc
: any of a large phylum of invertebrate animals (as snails, clams, and octopuses) with a soft body lacking segments and usually enclosed in a shell containing calcium
Medical Definition
mollusk
noun
mol·lusk
variants
or mollusc
: any invertebrate animal of the phylum Mollusca
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share