- any aquatic invertebrate having a shell or shell-like carapace, esp such an animal used as human food. Examples are crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters and molluscs such as oysters
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
shell•fish /ˈʃɛlˌfɪʃ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable], pl. (esp. when thought of as a group) -fish, (esp. for kinds or species) -fish•es.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Invertebratesan animal living in water and having a shell, such as the oyster or other mollusks.
shell•fish
(shel′fish′),USA pronunciation n., pl. (esp. collectively) -fish, (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) -fish•es.
- Invertebratesan aquatic animal having a shell, as the oyster and other mollusks and the lobster and other crustaceans.
- bef. 900; Middle English; Old English scilfisc. See shell, fish
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
shellfish /ˈʃɛlˌfɪʃ/ n ( pl -fish, -fishes)
(Advertisement)
'shellfish' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Balmain bug
- barnacle goose
- bisque
- cockle
- conch
- kashruth
- musselcracker
- nauplius
- paella
- purpura
- scallop
- seafood
- walrus
- white fish
- aquaculture
- bouillabaisse
- cioppino
- coquillage
- coquina
- court-bouillon
- drill
- finfish
- fishery
- gaspergou
- jambalaya
- murex
- pilaf
- proper
- purple
- red tide
- tellin
- Tyrian purple
- waterman
- wiggle
- spat
