barnacle

A noun referring to a marine crustacean that, as an adult, forms a hard shell and lives attached to submerged surfaces; also refers to a species of European goose that breeds in the far north.

• 🇩🇪Seeepocke, ein im Erwachsenenstadium festsitzendes marines Krebstier mit kalkigem Gehäuse; außerdem bezeichnet das Wort die Ringelgans, eine in der arktischen Tundra brütende Gänseart.

1. Marine crustacean B2 formal scientific

   A small marine crustacean that attaches itself permanently to hard surfaces such as rocks, ship hulls, and whales, using a strong adhesive.

   • The ship's hull was covered in barnacles after months at sea.
   • Barnacles filter plankton from the water using their feathery appendages.
   • Divers had to scrape the barnacles off the pier supports.

   🇩🇪Seepocke

   Synonyme: cirripedcirripede

2. Goose species C1 formal british scientific

   A type of goose, also known as the barnacle goose, which breeds in the Arctic regions of the North Atlantic.

   • The barnacle goose migrates south for the winter.
   • Ornithologists study the nesting habits of barnacle geese in Greenland.
   • A flock of barnacle geese flew overhead in a V formation.

   🇩🇪Weißwangengans

   Synonyme: barnacle goose

• barnacles plural form
• barnacles' possessive plural form
• barnacle's possessive singular form