millipede
noun
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The earth is home to about 10,000 species of millipedes. Though they have no poison fangs, many of them can, when threatened, emit a liquid or gas poisonous to their enemies. If their structure were true to their name, millipedes would have a thousand legs, but in fact they have far fewer. Even so, a millipede in motion is a sight to ponder: How can it possibly coordinate all those legs so that it doesn't trip over itself? Like some tiny conga line or bunny hop, it scuttles away to a rhythm only it can hear.
Examples of millipede in a Sentence
Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2025
Centipedes Versus Millipedes Most people can’t tell the difference between a centipede and a millipede, another multi-legged creature that needs moisture to thrive.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 24 Sep. 2025
The snail is two years old and the millipede is only a few months old.
—Patricia Marx, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Even the most dedicated seed-eating songbirds must eat insects and other arthropods, that many-legged group of creatures that includes spiders and millipedes, to produce eggs, to grow new feathers and to feed their young.
—Madeline Bodin, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Millipede.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/millipede. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
millipede
noun
from Latin millepeda "a small crawling animal," literally "a thousand-footed animal," from mille "thousand" and ped-, pes "foot"
Medical Definition
millipede
noun
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