arachnid
noun
arach·nid
| \ ə-ˈrak-nəd
, -ˌnid\
, -ˌnid\
Definition of arachnid
: any of a class (Arachnida) of arthropods comprising chiefly terrestrial invertebrates, including the spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks, and having a segmented body divided into two regions of which the anterior bears four pairs of legs but no antennae
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Examples of arachnid in a Sentence
Spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks are arachnids.
Recent Examples on the Web
Nanayakkara and his colleagues discovered the unusually adorned arachnid in a section of Sri Lanka’s southwestern rainforest surrounded by tea and rubber plantations. — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, "Turquoise-Tinted Tarantula Discovered in Sri Lanka," 27 Aug. 2019 Scientists found the arachnids within an isolated patch of southwestern rainforest, ringed by tea and rubber plantations. — Nadia Drake, National Geographic, "Shimmery blue tarantula discovered," 23 Aug. 2019 Those aggressive spiders did a better job of having babies and keeping those babies alive — making hurricanes a form of natural selection favoring more combative arachnids. — Alex Harris, sun-sentinel.com, "Hurricanes may spin a more aggressive population of spiders, new study shows," 21 Aug. 2019 But first, arachnids ?: Hurricanes are apparently making spiders more aggressive. — Ashley Shaffer, USA TODAY, "An Area 51 emergency?," 21 Aug. 2019 So Studiosus is a social spider, an incredibly rare situation for arachnids—a behavior shared by less than one percent of all spiders. — John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, "Why Hurricanes Makes This Spider Even More Aggressive," 19 Aug. 2019 In addition, a warmer climate is more favorable for disease-carrying insects and arachnids. — al.com, "Secret government tick experiment created Lyme disease, congressman claims," 18 July 2019 On a recent Monday, at the state capitol, in Albany, Senator Sue Serino bit into a lime wedge while standing next to an enormous bloodsucking arachnid. — Micah Hauser, The New Yorker, "Tickbusters on the Lookout for Lyme," 22 July 2019 Keizer Fire District Chief Jeff Cowan says the arachnids were confirmed to be Pacific Northwest forest scorpions, a species native to the Willamette Valley. — USA TODAY, "Barbie, Tupac, scorpions and Red Vines: News from around our 50 states," 19 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'arachnid.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for arachnid
arachnid
noun
English Language Learners Definition of arachnid
technical
: a kind of animal that has eight legs and a body formed of two parts
See the full definition for arachnid in the English Language Learners Dictionary