OCTOPUS (octopi)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: octopi   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does octopus mean? 

• OCTOPUS (noun)
  The noun OCTOPUS has 2 senses:

1. tentacles of octopus prepared as food

2. bottom-living cephalopod having a soft oval body with eight long tentacles

  Familiarity information: OCTOPUS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OCTOPUS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Tentacles of octopus prepared as food

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("octopus" is a kind of...):

seafood (edible fish (broadly including freshwater fish) or shellfish or roe etc)

Holonyms ("octopus" is a part of...):

devilfish; octopus (bottom-living cephalopod having a soft oval body with eight long tentacles)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Bottom-living cephalopod having a soft oval body with eight long tentacles

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

devilfish; octopus

Hypernyms ("octopus" is a kind of...):

octopod (a cephalopod with eight arms but lacking an internal shell)

Meronyms (parts of "octopus"):

octopus (tentacles of octopus prepared as food)

Holonyms ("octopus" is a member of...):

genus Octopus (type genus of the family Octopodidae)

 Context examples 

The octopus genome has 1,800 of these transcription factors—the second-largest gene family discovered so far in animals.

(First-ever octopus genome sequenced, NSF)

The octopuses are an unknown species of the genus Muusoctopus — pink, dinner-plate-sized creatures with enormous eyes.

(Giant group of octopus moms discovered in the deep sea, National Science Foundation)

Unlike humans, octopuses have multiple brains rather than just one central nervous system.

(Octopuses can dream, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The researchers mapped gene expression profiles in 12 different tissues, and identified 33,000 protein-coding genes, which puts the octopus genome at slightly smaller in size than the human genome.

(First-ever octopus genome sequenced, NSF)

Stranger still was that nearly all the octopuses seemed to be mothers, each guarding a clutch of eggs.

(Giant group of octopus moms discovered in the deep sea, National Science Foundation)

Given that octopuses have very precise control over the system by which their skin color changes, it is rare for them to trigger the response while sleeping.

(Octopuses can dream, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

In the first-ever sequencing of the entire octopus genome, researchers discovered unusual features that shed light on octopus evolution and biology, and set the stage for future studies on complex nervous system development.

(First-ever octopus genome sequenced, NSF)

Indeed, the octopuses the scientists observed showed evidence of severe stress.

(Giant group of octopus moms discovered in the deep sea, National Science Foundation)

An octopus' mantle is a very special part of its body.

(Octopuses can dream, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

One of biggest surprises in the octopus genome was the expansion of two gene families, including the protocadherins, which regulate neuronal development.

(First-ever octopus genome sequenced, NSF)