starfish

Meaning

Noun

1. Any of various echinoderms (not in fact fish) with usually five arms, many of which eat bivalves or corals by everting their stomach.
2. (obsolete) Any many-armed or tentacled sea invertebrate, whether cnidarian, echinoderm, or cephalopod.
3. (slang) A woman (or, less commonly, a gay man) who reluctantly takes part in sexual intercourse, and lies on the back while spreading the limbs.
4. (slang, usually, vulgar) The anus.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To assume a splayed-out shape, like that of a starfish.
2. (intransitive) To assume a splayed-out shape, like that of a starfish.
3. (transitive) To form into a splayed-out shape, like that of a starfish.

Synonyms

sea star

asteroid

crucifix

five-finger

rood

shell

🐚

star

⭐

Ester

aster

seastar

cross

Translations

étoile de mer

estrella de mar

Seestern

estrela-do-mar

αστερίας

stella di mare

astérie

stella marina

denizyıldızı

zeester

estrella de mar

asteria

zeesterren

estèla de mar

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈstɑː(ɹ)fɪʃ/

Etymology

From star + fish.