Word forms: mollusksregional note: in BRIT, use mollusc
countable noun
A mollusk is an animal such as a snail, clam, or octopus which has a soft body. Many types of mollusk have hard shells to protect them.
mollusk in American English
(ˈmɑləsk)
noun
any of a large phylum (Mollusca) of invertebrate animals, including the chitons, gastropods, cephalopods, scaphopods, and bivalves characterized by a soft, unsegmented body, typically enclosed wholly or in part in a mantle and a calcareous shell, and usually having gills and a foot
Derived forms
molluskan (molˈluskan) (məˈlʌskən)
adjective, noun
Word origin
Fr mollusque < ModL Mollusca, coined by Cuvier < L mollusca, a soft-shelled nut < molluscus, soft < mollis: see mollify