octopus
n. countablen. a sea animal with a soft body and eight long arms. It is known for being very smart and can change its color to hide.
n. a cephalopod mollusc with a soft, sac-like body and eight tentacles equipped with suckers. Known for high cognitive ability and the capacity to expel ink or change skin pigmentation for camouflage.
The octopus hides among the rocks on the sea floor.
While diving in the reef, we saw an octopus squeeze its entire body through a tiny gap in the coral.
Marine biologists have observed the octopus using discarded coconut shells as mobile shelters, a behavior that suggests sophisticated tool use previously thought rare in invertebrates.
From Latin octōpūs, from Ancient Greek ὀκτώπους (oktṓpous), from ὀκτώ (oktṓ, “eight”) + πούς (poús, “foot”). Piecewise doublet of octopod and octopede.
The standard plural is 'octopuses'; 'octopi' is often considered a mistaken application of Latin rules to a Greek root.