Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

stickleback

Pronunciation: /ˈstɪk(ə)lbak/

Definition of stickleback

noun

  • a small fish with sharp spines along its back, able to live in both salt and fresh water and found in both Eurasia and North America.
    • Family Gasterosteidae: several genera and species, including the common and widespread three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old English sticel 'thorn, sting' + bæc 'back'

stickleback in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of stickleback in the US English dictionary
  |  Cite

Word of the day

kempt

/ kɛm(p)t /
adjective
maintained in a neat and clean condition …