Copepod
//ˈkoʊpɪpɒd// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of very many small crustaceans of the subclass Copepoda; they are widely distributed and ecologically important.
"To eat, the whale takes a wide-open gulp of water and closes its jaws to a slit so that as it pushes its tongue forwards and upwards, water is forced through the baleen while the copepods, krill and other animals it likes to eat remain in its mouth."
- 2 minute marine or freshwater crustaceans usually having six pairs of limbs on the thorax; some abundant in plankton and others parasitic on fish wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"To eat, the whale takes a wide-open gulp of water and closes its jaws to a slit so that as it pushes its tongue forwards and upwards, water is forced through the baleen while the copepods, krill and other animals it likes to eat remain in its mouth."
Etymology
From translingual Copepoda, from Ancient Greek κώπη (kṓpē, “handle”) + -pod.
Related phrases
More for "copepod"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.