octopuses

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of octopus.

   Divers spotted three octopuses changing color to match the sand.

   Researchers found that captive octopuses can solve simple puzzles.

   Note

   The regular English plural, formed with -es just as bus becomes buses. Two rivals also circulate: octopi, a Latinized form, and octopodes, which reflects the word's Greek origin. Octopuses is still the standard choice in current usage. It covers both the animals and the many-branched organizations. When octopus means the food, though, it is uncountable, so a menu offers grilled octopus, never grilled octopuses.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of octopus. Rare.

   Note

   A present-tense verb that is spelled exactly like the plural noun, so only the sentence tells you which one you are reading. As a verb it takes a singular subject: a company octopuses, a crack octopuses. It usually describes spreading in long arms in many directions, reaching into many things at once, or growing far beyond what was originally intended.

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