nautilus
noun
nau·ti·lus
| \ ˈnȯ-tə-ləs
, ˈnä-\
, ˈnä-\
plural nautiluses
or nautili\ ˈnȯ-tə-ˌlī
, -ˌlē , ˈnä- \
, -ˌlē , ˈnä- \
Definition of nautilus
1
: any of a genus (Nautilus) of cephalopod mollusks of the South Pacific and Indian oceans with a spiral chambered shell that is pearly on the inside
— called also chambered nautilus
2
: paper nautilus
Illustration of nautilus
nautilus 1
Examples of nautilus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The team plans to select one or more species of cephalopod — the group including squid, octopus, cuttlefish and nautilus — as part of their lineup. — Quanta Magazine, "How to Grow a New Model Organism," 27 July 2016 Architect Bruce Goff used acrylic for transparent handrails that curl through the nautilus-like interior. — Mimi Zeiger, latimes.com, "La Brea Tar Pits’ trippy new pavilion from Spain’s Selgascano could be L.A.’s next selfie magnet," 27 June 2019 The ever-fascinating Fibonacci spiral, for example, shows up in everything from sunflower seed arrangements to nautilus shells to pine cones. — Maddie Burakoff, Smithsonian, "Decoding the Mathematical Secrets of Plants’ Stunning Leaf Patterns," 6 June 2019 Correction on March 11, 2015: An earlier version of this article asserted that the golden ratio is found in nautilus shells, which is a common misperception. — Quanta Magazine, "Strange Stars Pulse to the Golden Mean," 10 Mar. 2015 Built in 1952, this three-bedroom nautilus of a home, designed by architecture icon Frank Lloyd Wright for his son, is one of a handful of rounded designs that foreshadows the contours of the Guggenheim Museum. — Patrick Sisson, Curbed, "Rethinking the modern house museum," 12 Oct. 2018 Its spiral shape was inspired by the nautilus, the self-replicating living fossil. — Washington Post, "Monument honoring Virginia native tribes awaits ceremony," 6 Mar. 2018 In the ocean’s depths where oxygen gets thin, the nautilus seems to be putting itself at risk by expending so much effort on movement. — New York Times, "The Chambered Nautilus Is the Ocean’s Most Efficient Jet Engine," 23 Feb. 2018 The nautilus has not populated the earth as extensively as the ammonite, which broke into thousands of species, Famoso said. — Kyle Spurr, The Christian Science Monitor, "Girl finds 65 million year old fossil in Oregon field," 19 Mar. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nautilus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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