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
Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 8 July 2025
Etheostoma obama is a spangled darter named after the 44th U.S. president; the Swift twisted-claw millipede – Nannaria swiftae – is named after pop star Taylor Swift.
—Nicholas Green, The Conversation, 3 June 2025
Since 2018, several new groups of millipedes have been discovered on the Malay Peninsula, according to the study.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 30 June 2025
About 85% of the animals on Earth today are arthropods -- including shrimps, lobsters, spiders, mites, millipedes and centipedes, the paper stated.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for millipede
Cite this Entry
“Millipede.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/millipede. Accessed 21 Jul. 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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