Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various carnivorous marine cephalopod mollusks chiefly of the family Octopodidae, having a soft body, eight arms with suckers, a large distinct head, and a mouth with a strong beak.
- noun Something, such as a multinational corporation, that has many powerful, centrally controlled branches.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The typical genus of Octopodidæ and Octopoda.
- noun [lowercase; pl. octopi (-pī).] A species or an individual of the genus Octopus; an octopod; a poulpe; a devilfish. See also cut under
cuttlefish . - noun Hence Figuratively, any centralized organization which has many branches and secret connections, and thereby maintains an oppressive hold upon the public.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) A genus of eight-armed cephalopods, including numerous species, some of them of large size. See
devilfish . - noun (Zoöl.) Any member of the genus Octopus.
- noun Something resembling an octopus in having numerous controlling arms or branches that reach widely and influence many activities; -- used mostly of organizations, such as diversified corporations.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of several marine
molluscs /mollusks , of the family Octopodidae, having no internal or external protective shell or bone (unlike thenautilus ,squid orcuttlefish ) andeight arms each covered withsuckers . - noun uncountable The
flesh of these marine molluscs eaten as food. - noun An
organization that has many powerful branches controlled from the centre.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun tentacles of octopus prepared as food
- noun bottom-living cephalopod having a soft oval body with eight long tentacles
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word octopus.
Examples
-
[47] The cuttlefish, or octopus (_Sepia octopus_).
-
But the lifespan of the common octopus is only 3 years and tickets to Germany are out of my price range at the present time
Goodbye Pulpo Paul: a tribute to our favorite psychic octopus Alexandra Petri 2010
-
By this time it was clear that I was not about to set the world of biology aflame -- not many people were interested in octopus behavior -- and so after the university grudgingly gave me
-
"Oooh, look, the octopus is going into the house!"
Ham! 2009
-
I used to have this cute little stuffed octopus from the Monterey Aquarium that frightened the bejeezus out of 3/4 of the cats that met it, and was extremely, extremely alluring to the fourth cat.
"Only mustard isn't a bird," Alice remarked. greygirlbeast 2010
-
But the lifespan of the common octopus is only 3 years and tickets to Germany are out of my price range at the present time
Goodbye Pulpo Paul: a tribute to our favorite psychic octopus Alexandra Petri 2010
-
But the lifespan of the common octopus is only 3 years
Goodbye Pulpo Paul: a tribute to our favorite psychic octopus Alexandra Petri 2010
-
Oh, and Sonya gifted me with an enormous plush octopus from the MCZ gift shop, which I have christened Nemo.
Howard Hughes Wanders Out Among the Artifacts nineweaving 2010
-
But the lifespan of the common octopus is only 3 years
Goodbye Pulpo Paul: a tribute to our favorite psychic octopus Alexandra Petri 2010
-
Oh, and Sonya gifted me with an enormous plush octopus from the MCZ gift shop, which I have christened Nemo.
Howard Hughes Wanders Out Among the Artifacts nineweaving 2010
reesetee commented on the word octopus
THE OCTOPUS
Tell me, O Octopus, I begs
Is those things arms, or is they legs?
I marvel at thee, Octopus;
If I were thou, I'd call me Us.
Ogden Nash
April 18, 2007
mollusque commented on the word octopus
Have you ever heard a blind-folded octopus unwrap a cellophane-covered bathtub?
--Norton Juster, 1961, The Phantom Tollbooth
November 9, 2007
reesetee commented on the word octopus
Love the quote and the book!
November 9, 2007
mollusque commented on the word octopus
Getting all of one’s addictions under control is a little like putting an octopus to bed.
--Anne Lamott, 1994, Bird by Bird, p. 93
November 16, 2007
treeseed commented on the word octopus
I read about a little octopus who was given a small toy figure of Mr. Potato Head and the little octopus became so attached to this toy that he would become aggressive if his keepers tried to remove it from him. He became adept at opening and closing a small compartment in the back of the toy. Somehow this story makes me love octopuses and appreciate them in a whole new way. I think it is a sad tale.
January 27, 2008
mollusque commented on the word octopus
Octopuses have personalities.
January 27, 2008
asativum commented on the word octopus
Oughtn't it be octopi?
January 27, 2008
mollusque commented on the word octopus
The preferred plural in English is "octopuses". "Octopus" comes from Greek, not Latin, so if a classical plural is used it should be "octopodes". "Octopi" is a well-established back-formation, often used in jocular contexts.
January 27, 2008
asativum commented on the word octopus
Thanks! Always wondered about that. (See mongoose.)
Not sure I'd get too jocular with octopuses, or octopi for that matter, given then Mr. Potatohead story; they don't seem to have much of a sense of humor.
January 27, 2008
shbhrsaha commented on the word octopus
wow
May 24, 2008
travismcdermott commented on the word octopus
1759 Philos. Trans. 1758 (Royal Soc.) 50 778 The Polypus, particularly so called, the Octopus, Preke, or Pour-contrel.
July 23, 2008
oroboros commented on the word octopus
Army threat? (NYT crossword puzzle clue)
October 1, 2014