Meanings
plural pleopods · plural pleopoda · alternative pleiopod · alternative pleiopus · alternative pleopus
- biologyOne of the abdominal legs of a crustacean.
In decapods such as lobsters, pleopods are legs mainly used for swimming but sometimes used for brooding eggs or catching food. In some species certain pleopods of an animal may have been adapted to special functions such as reproduction.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounone of the paired abdominal appendages of certain aquatic crustaceans that function primarily for carrying the eggs in females and are usually adapted for swimming
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From pleon (“the abdomen of a crustacean”) + -pod (“foot”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
pleopod. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pleopod
“pleopod.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pleopod. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pleopod,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pleopod.
Source: pleopod on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.