# shrimp

Pronunciation: say "SHRIMP" /ʃɹɪmp/

## Noun

1. Any of various swimming crustaceans with slender legs, long antennae, and a long abdomen, many of them edible.
   - Simple: A small sea animal with a thin body, long legs, and feelers, often caught for food.
   - _Each shrimp in the tide pool flicked its tail and shot backward._
   - _Trawlers haul thousands of shrimp from these waters each season._
2. The edible flesh of shrimp, commonly served boiled, fried, or grilled.
   - Simple: The pink, soft meat of small sea crustaceans, cooked and eaten as food.
   - _He ordered a plate of grilled shrimp with lemon._
   - _The recipe calls for half a pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined._
3. A person regarded as small, puny, or insignificant. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A person who is small, weak, or seen as not important.
   - _Don't let that little shrimp boss you around._
   - _He felt like a shrimp standing next to the tall basketball players._
5. A penis regarded as small; a crude slang usage. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A crude word for a small penis.
   - _The locker-room insult reduced him to nothing but a shrimp._
   - _His ex spread the rumor that he was packing a shrimp._
6. A woman considered to have an attractive body but an unattractive face. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A rude slang word for a woman seen as having a good body but an unattractive face.
   - _The magazine's cruel feature ranked several stars as shrimps, praising their figures while mocking their faces._
   - _He called her a shrimp, then awkwardly added that her body was incredible._

## Verb

4. To fish for shrimp, typically using nets or traps.
   - Simple: To go out and catch shrimp, usually using nets.
   - _Local crews shrimp in the bay from May through October._
   - _His family has shrimped in these waters for generations._
7. To contract or shrink, drawing together into a smaller form.
   - Simple: To get smaller by pulling in or drawing together.
   - _The old parchment had begun to shrimp at its curling edges._
   - _Muscles shrimp and tighten when exposed to sudden cold._

## Origin

From Middle English schrimpe ("shrimp, puny person"), possibly related to Middle Low German schrempen ("to wrinkle") and ultimately from a Proto-Germanic root *skrimpaz ("shrivelled"), tied to the idea of shrinking or shrivelling up.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/shrimp (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).