basket star
1
9.6
- noun
- /ˈbæskɪt stɑr/
:
estrella canasto
- At the aquarium, visitors were fascinated by the intricate movements of the basket star.
Examples
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Marine biologists studied a basket star collected during the deep-sea expedition.
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The basket star unfurled its delicate arms across the reef, searching for plankton in the current.
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The basket star is a fascinating marine creature.
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Did you see the basket star at the aquarium?
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The basket star uses its long, branched arms to capture small prey as it floats in the ocean.
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While exploring the reef, we spotted a basket star gracefully extending its limbs to catch food.
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The unique shape of the basket star, with its slender, intricate arms, makes it a fascinating creature to observe.
Synonyms
A sea animal like a starfish with many thin, branched arms around a round middle body
A group of sea animals called basket stars that have branched, flexible arms
A sea animal with many long branched arms that catches food from the water
A sea animal like a starfish with many branched arms
A sea animal like a starfish with many branching arms that lives in cold deep water
A large sea star with many long, branched arms living on tropical western Atlantic reefs
A group of sea animals like basket stars with many branched, flexible arms that live deep in the ocean
Surface Forms
Morphology
basket + star
The compound is compositional: 'star' names the star-shaped animal and 'basket' describes its basket-like, branched arms, so the overall meaning (a star-like creature resembling a basket) can be derived from the parts. Noun+noun shape-describing compounds are common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows 'basket' and 'star' can reasonably infer this referent.
Etymology
Basket star is a sea animal with many long, thin arms that branch and curl into a net like a basket and spread out like a star. So people named it for those two images, which is why Basket star refers to that sea animal today.