Word
mussel
Phoneticsmus·sel
US/ˈməsəɫ/
UK/mˈʌsəl/
Definition
n. a small sea creature with a hard shell that lives in water. It is often eaten as food and has a soft body inside the shell.
n. a bivalve mollusc with a soft, unsegmented body enclosed in a hinged shell. Often consumed as a culinary delicacy and found in both marine and freshwater environments.
Examples
“We ate grilled mussels for dinner.”
“The chef served a plate of steamed mussels with a side of garlic bread and a fresh salad.”
“Ecologists are monitoring the mussel population in the river because these organisms are highly sensitive to changes in water quality and serve as an early indicator of pollution.”
Examples
simple
“We ate grilled mussels for dinner.”
contextual
“The chef served a plate of steamed mussels with a side of garlic bread and a fresh salad.”
complex
“Ecologists are monitoring the mussel population in the river because these organisms are highly sensitive to changes in water quality and serve as an early indicator of pollution.”
Real-World Examples
“They are piled on top of a board of carefully arranged mussels and, by setting fire to the pine needles, the shellfish cook in their own juices.” “New research from Aarhus University shows that blue mussels have a defense.” Etymology
From Middle English muscle (“mussel”), from Old English muscle, from Proto-West Germanic *muskulā, from Late Latin muscula, from Latin mūsculus (“mussel, muscle”, literally “little mouse”). Doublet of muscle.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/mussel