Adjacent Words

Conch definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CONCH, n. [See Cancer.] A marine shell.
Adds orient pearls, which from the conchs he drew.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any of various edible tropical marine gastropods of the genus Strombus having a brightly-colored spiral shell with large outer lip

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural conchs or conches) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin concha mussel, mussel shell, from Greek konch?; akin to Sanskrit ?a?kha conch shell Date: 15th century 1. any of various large spiral-shelled marine gastropod mollusks (as of the genus Strombus); also its shell used especially for cameos 2. often capitalized a native or resident of the Florida Keys 3. concha 2

Britannica Concise

Marine snail whose shell has a broadly triangular outer whorl and a wide lip, often jutting toward the uppermost point. True conchs (family Strombidae) feed on fine plant matter in warm waters. The queen conch (Strombus gigas), found from Florida to Brazil, has an ornamental shell; the pink opening into the first whorl of the shell may be 12 in. (30 cm) long. The clam-eating fulgur conchs (family Melongenidae) include the channeled conch (Busycon canaliculatum) and the lightning conch (B. contrarium), both about 7 in. (18 cm) long and common on the U.S. Atlantic coast. See also whelk.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. conchs or conches) 1 a a thick heavy spiral shell, occasionally bearing long projections, of various marine gastropod molluscs of the family Strombidae. b any of these gastropods. 2 Archit. the domed roof of a semicircular apse. 3 = concha. Etymology: L concha shell f. Gk kogkhe

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Conch Conch, n. [L. concha, Gr. ?. See Coach, n.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) A name applied to various marine univalve shells; esp. to those of the genus Strombus, which are of large size. S. gigas is the large pink West Indian conch. The large king, queen, and cameo conchs are of the genus Cassis. See Cameo. Note: The conch is sometimes used as a horn or trumpet, as in fogs at sea, or to call laborers from work. 2. In works of art, the shell used by Tritons as a trumpet. 3. One of the white natives of the Bahama Islands or one of their descendants in the Florida Keys; -- so called from the commonness of the conch there, or because they use it for food. 4. (Arch.) See Concha, n. 5. The external ear. See Concha, n., 2.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(conches) A conch is a shellfish with a large shell rather like a snail's. A conch or a conch shell is the shell of this creature. N-COUNT