lobster
n. C / Un. a large sea animal with a hard shell and two big claws. It turns bright red when you cook it and is often served as expensive seafood.
n. a large marine crustacean with a cylindrical body and ten legs, the first pair of which are modified into large pincers. Often used in culinary contexts to refer to the meat of this animal.
We ordered fresh lobster for our anniversary dinner.
The local fishermen set their traps early in the morning to catch lobster along the rocky coast.
Marine biologists are studying how rising ocean temperatures affect the migration patterns and shell development of the North Atlantic lobster.
From Middle English loppestere, lopster, from Old English loppestre, lopustre, lopystre, of uncertain origin. Some believe it to be a corruption of Latin lō̆custa (“grasshopper, locust”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre. In Latin, the phrase lō̆custa marīna (literally "sea-grasshopper") signified a type of crustacean (shrimp or lobster). Alternatively, from Old English lobbe, loppe (“spider”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre, equivalent to lop + -ster.
Countable when referring to the individual animal; uncountable when referring to the meat as food.