three-spined sticklebacks

A form of three-spined stickleback — Gasterosteus aculeatus, a small fish of coastal and inland waters of the Northern Hemisphere, that can make its spines erect when threatened, which makes it hard to swallow.

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Meanings

noun
  1. pluralplural of three-spined stickleback
Cite this entry
APA

three-spined sticklebacks. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/three-spined%20sticklebacks

MLA

“three-spined sticklebacks.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/three-spined%20sticklebacks. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “three-spined sticklebacks,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/three-spined%20sticklebacks.

Source: three-spined sticklebacks on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.