shrimp

views updated

shrimp / shrimp/ • n. (pl. same or shrimps ) a small free-swimming crustacean (Pandalus, Penaeus, Crangon, and other genera, order Decapoda) with an elongated body, typically marine and frequently harvested for food. Its numerous species include the commercially important pink shrimp (Penaeus duorarum). ∎ inf., derog. a small, physically weak person.• v. [intr.] fish for shrimp: [as adj.] (shrimping) a shrimping net. DERIVATIVES: shrimp·y adj.

More From encyclopedia.com