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centipede

centipede

14 3.4
A long thin animal with many legs that uses its front legs to catch small animals
  • noun
  • /ˈsɛntɪˌpid/
translation icon : ciempiés
  • Creep and crawl like a centipede.
  • a giant centipede
  • centipede crawled
  • centipede legs

And they have like a petting zoo part of it where like they have like millipedes, centipedes.

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Examples

  • So here's a a centipede, for example, with lots and lots of legs.

  • As the centipede moved through the leaves, its many legs created a mesmerizing motion.

  • That, my dear, is not a centipede.

  • But I promise you they have centipedes in Australia more dangerous than anything out here.

  • After two days of poulticing, the red centipedes completely disappeared.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Sitting at the top of the local invertebrate food chain, these insects keep spiders, mites and centipedes in check.

  • Lucianne and Sarah, from St. John's Evangelist Church Primary School in Islington, counted legs on centipedes and spiders.

    Academic text (2002)
  • I spotted a large centipede crawling along the garden path.

  • While hiking, I was surprised to see a centipede hiding under a rock.

Synonyms

arthropod
vscentipede
  • Specialized
4 7.0

An animal without a backbone that has jointed legs and a hard shell like insects or crabs

is the particular small invertebrate with front legs adapted for catching prey
Arthropoda
vscentipede
  • Specialized
1 6.3

A group of animals without bones that have jointed legs and a hard outer shell like insects, spiders, and crabs

is one specific member of that phylum with specialized grasping front legs
Chilopoda
vscentipede
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of animals called centipedes with many segments and one pair of legs per segment

is a small individual predator with front legs modified to grasp prey
myriapod
vscentipede
  • Specialized
9.9

A land animal with many body sections and many legs, like centipedes or millipedes

is a specific small predator with front legs modified for grasping prey
Myriapoda
vscentipede
  • Specialized
9.9

Animals with many body segments and legs like millipedes

is an individual animal in that group with grasping front legs and predation
thousand-legs
vscentipede
7.7

A small long creature with many legs like a millipede

is the precise animal that has single front leg pairs used to seize prey

Compounds

A small many-legged creature that lives in soil and eats plant roots

A long, many-legged creature often found in damp rooms like basements and bathrooms

How Many Legs

diplopod
  • Specialized
9.2
centipede
14 3.4
spider
327 1.0
insect
341 1.0

Surface Forms

centipede singular
centipedes plural

Morphology

centipede = pede (semi-transparent) = centi + pede

The components 'centi-' (hundred) and 'pede' (foot) suggest a creature with a hundred feet, but the actual number of legs varies.

Etymology

Centipede comes from the parts centi- ('hundred') and -ped ('foot'), the same roots you see in century and pedal. So it literally means 'a hundred feet', and even though real centipedes do not always have exactly 100 legs, the name gives a clear image of an animal with many legs.