millipede
Noun: 1. A small, elongated, many-legged arthropod: A millipede is a type of invertebrate animal with a long, cylindrical, segmented body. Most body segments have two pairs of legs, giving it a very high number of legs, though not typically a full thousand as the name might suggest. Millipedes are generally harmless, slow-moving, and feed on decaying plant material.
Millipedes are found in damp environments like soil, leaf litter, and under logs. They are important decomposers in ecosystems. - As a subject: "A millipede curls into a tight spiral when threatened." - As an object: "I found a millipede under the rotting log." - With modifiers: "The giant African millipede is a popular pet among insect enthusiasts."
- "The millipede moved slowly across the forest floor with its numerous legs creating a wave-like motion."
- "Unlike centipedes, millipedes are not venomous and primarily eat decaying leaves."
- "Children are often fascinated by the many legs of a millipede."
- In scientific context: In taxonomy, millipedes belong to the class Diplopoda. The term is used to distinguish them from centipedes (class Chilopoda), which are carnivorous and have one pair of legs per segment.
- Figurative use (rare): Sometimes used metaphorically to describe something with many parts or a long, segmented appearance.
- The conveyor belt system in the factory moved like a giant millipede.
- Diplopod (n): The scientific term for a millipede.
- Milliped (n): An alternative, less common spelling of millipede.
- Thousand-legger (n): A common name for a millipede, though it is an exaggeration.
- Decomposer (n): Describes its ecological role, though this term is much broader.
- Centipede (n): A different type of many-legged arthropod that is carnivorous and has one pair of legs per body segment.
There are no common idioms or phrasal verbs specifically using the word "millipede."
- any of numerous herbivorous nonpoisonous arthropods having a cylindrical body of 20 to 100 or more segments most with two pairs of legs