Illustration of barnacle
- 1 peduncle
- 2 cirri
barnacle
noun
bar·na·cle
ˈbär-ni-kəl 
1
2
[from a popular belief that the goose grew from the crustacean]
: any of numerous marine crustaceans (subclass Cirripedia) with feathery appendages for gathering food that are free-swimming as larvae but permanently fixed (as to rocks, boat hulls, or whales) as adults
Examples of barnacle in a Sentence
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The island’s wide, open beaches were perfect for careening hulls, beaching ships and listing them to one side to scrape off the foul barnacles and shipworms that infest the tropical Caribbean.
—
Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
Related article Stunning photographs capture starlings migrating through Europe
Ryan Stalker, who took the winning image, explains that the goose barnacles attached to the football are not a native to the UK but sometimes wash up on its shores during Atlantic storms.
—Nell Lewis, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for barnacle 
Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
Related article Stunning photographs capture starlings migrating through Europe
Ryan Stalker, who took the winning image, explains that the goose barnacles attached to the football are not a native to the UK but sometimes wash up on its shores during Atlantic storms.
—Nell Lewis, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for barnacle
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'barnacle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Barnacle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barnacle. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
barnacle
noun
bar·na·cle
ˈbär-ni-kəl
: any of numerous small saltwater crustaceans with feathery outgrowths for gathering food that are free-swimming as larvae but as adults are permanently fastened (as to rocks or the bottoms of ships)
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