What does "shrimp" mean?
Any of many swimming, often edible, crustaceans, chiefly of the infraorder Caridea or the suborder Dendrobranchiata, with slender legs, long whiskers and a long abdomen.
Shrimp
/ʃɹɪmp/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any of many swimming, often edible, crustaceans, chiefly of the infraorder Caridea or the suborder Dendrobranchiata, with slender legs, long whiskers and a long abdomen.
- Grammar: shrimp is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: prawn, a nobody, a nothing, angle.
- Useful contrasts: discard, giant, release.
- Usage evidence: She's made shrimp dumplings and added shiitakes with Sichuan pepper.
How to use "shrimp"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "shrimp" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "shrimp" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "shrimp" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "shrimp" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "shrimp" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "prawn" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "shrimp", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of many swimming, often edible, crustaceans, chiefly of the infraorder Caridea or the suborder Dendrobranchiata, with slender legs, long whiskers and a long abdomen. countable, uncountable
"1851, "A Lady of Charleston" (Sarah Rutledge), The Carolina Housewife, 2013, unnumbered page, Butter well a deep dish, upon which place a thick layer of pounded biscuit; having picked and boiled your shrimps, put them upon the biscuit; a layer of shrimps, with small pieces of butter, a little pepper, mace or nutmeg."
- 2 Acronym of sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 3 A player, supporter or other person connected with Morecambe Football Club.
- 4 small slender-bodied chiefly marine decapod crustaceans with a long tail and single pair of pincers; many species are edible wordnet
- 5 The flesh of such crustaceans. uncountable
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 any of various edible decapod crustaceans wordnet
- 7 A small, puny or unimportant person. countable, slang, uncountable
- 8 disparaging terms for small people wordnet
- 9 Synonym of butterface countable, slang, uncommon, uncountable
- 10 A small penis. countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable
"shrimp dick"
Verb
- 1 To fish for shrimp. intransitive
"Fishing, shrimping and crabbing are permitted on designated areas of the refuge subject to the following conditions:[…]"
- 2 fish for shrimp wordnet
- 3 To contract; to shrink.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"She's made shrimp dumplings and added shiitakes with Sichuan pepper."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "shrimp"?
Common synonyms include: prawn, a nobody, a nothing, angle, bait the hook, bantam.
How do you use "shrimp" in a sentence?
She's made shrimp dumplings and added shiitakes with Sichuan pepper.
How do you pronounce "shrimp"?
Pronounced /ʃɹɪmp/.
Etymology
From Middle English schrimpe (“shrimp, puny person”), possibly from or related to Middle Low German schrempen (“to wrinkle”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skrimpaz (“shrivelled”), from Proto-Germanic *skrimpaną (“to shrivel”), from Proto-Indo-European *skremb-, *skr̥mb-. See also Middle High German schrimpf (“a scratch, minor wound”), Norwegian skramp (“thin horse, thin man”); also Old English sċrimman (“to shrink”) and scrimp, Middle High German schrimpfen (“to shrink, dry up”), Swedish skrympa (“to shrink”); also Lithuanian skrembti (“to crust over, stiffen”), and possibly Albanian shkrumb (“embers, ashes; crumble”).