lobster

nounverbadjectivecommon in dialogue

United Kingdom//ˈlɒb.stə//
United States//ˈlɑb.stɚ//
Canada//ˈlɒb.stɚ//
Australia//ˈlɔb.stə//
Scotland//ˈlɔb.stəɾ//

A crustacean of the Nephropidae family, dark green or blue-black in colour turning bright red when cooked, with a hard shell and claws, which is used as a seafood.

noun

1
A crustacean of the Nephropidae family, dark green or blue-black in colour turning bright red when cooked, with a hard shell and claws, which is used as a seafood.
2
Various other crustaceans that resemble true lobsters: A spiny lobster, also called the rock lobster, a crustacean of the Palinuridae family, pinkish red in colour, with a hard, spiny shell but no claws, which is used as a seafood.
3
Various other crustaceans that resemble true lobsters: A slipper lobster (a crustacean of the family Scyllaridae).
4
Various other crustaceans that resemble true lobsters: A squat lobster.
5
historicalA soldier or officer of the imperial British Army (due to their red or scarlet uniform).
[…] how the troops came marching out for evening exercise under Captain Preston; how pedestrians and street urchins taunted them, shouting "Lobsters," "Bloody-backs," and flinging snow-balls, turnips, […]
6
slangAn Australian twenty-dollar note, due to its reddish-orange colour.

Etymology

From Middle English loppestere, lopster, from Old English loppestre, lopustre, lopystre, of uncertain origin. Some believe it to be a corruption of Latin lō̆custa (“grasshopper, locust”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre. In Latin, the phrase lō̆custa marīna (literally "sea-grasshopper") signified a type of crustacean (shrimp or lobster). Alternatively, from Old English lobbe, loppe (“spider”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre, equivalent to lop + -ster.

verb

1
To fish for lobsters.

adjective

1
Red-colored, especially from a sunburn.

Forms

plural: lobsters
comparative: more lobster
superlative: most lobster
past tense: lobstered
past participle: lobstered
present participle: lobstering
third person singular: lobsters

lobe · Any projection or division, especially one of a somewhat…lobo · A wolf.Lobo · A surname.

lobster · A crustacean of the Nephropidae family, dark green or blue-black in colour turning bright red when cooked, with a hard shell and claws, which is used…

local · From or in a nearby location.locally · With respect to place; in place.locate · To place; to set in a particular spot or position.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.