platypus

[ plat-i-puhs, -poos ]

noun

, plural plat·y·pus·es, plat·y·pi [plat, -i-pahy].

1. a small, aquatic, egg-laying monotreme, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, of Australia and Tasmania, having webbed feet, a tail like that of a beaver, a sensitive bill resembling that of a duck, and, in adult males, venom-injecting spurs on the ankles of the hind limbs, used primarily for fighting with other males during the breeding season.

platypus

/ ˈplætɪpəs /

noun

1. See duck-billed platypus

Word History and Origins

Origin of platypus¹

1790–1800; < New Latin < Greek platýpous flat-footed, equivalent to platy- platy- + -pous, adj. derivative of poús foot

Word History and Origins

Origin of platypus¹

C18: New Latin, from platy- + -pus, from Greek pous foot

Example Sentences

Those are mammals whose babies develop mainly in the womb while fed by a placenta — unlike egg-laying platypuses or marsupials, whose tiny newborns do much of their development in their mother’s pouch.

From Science News

This is the platypus of the crab world, because it’s so weird and different.

From Popular-Science

It’s wise to carry both a bladder—like a Platypus for easy, while-hiking consumption—and a sturdier container, such as a Nalgene, just in case the bladder fails.

From Popular-Science

While my Platypus is great for riding around town, it’s also perfectly suited for long outings, accepts all sorts of racks and bags, and is up for anything short of technical singletrack or a full-on Lycra-clad group hammerfest.

From Outside Online

We have to think about this holistically rather than just adding a platypus or a pterodactyl.

From MIT Technology Review

It has webbed feet, and therefore sometimes receives the name of Platypus (flat-foot).

From Project Gutenberg

So, although it was a long and rough way to the little creek where the Platypus lived, it did not seem at all far.

From Project Gutenberg

She kept on fidgetting about, putting off calling to the Platypus by one excuse and another: she was decidedly ill at ease.

From Project Gutenberg

Dot could not hear what the Kangaroo said, but she saw the Platypus hurriedly prepare to regain the water.

From Project Gutenberg

The Platypus spluttered out more dirty water, in its indignation.

From Project Gutenberg

What Is The Plural Of Platypus?

Plural word for platypus

The plural form of platypus can be either platypuses or platypi, pronounced [ plat-i-pahy ], but platypuses is more widely used. The plurals of several other singular words ending in -us are formed in the same way as platypuses, such as virus/viruses, sinus/sinuses, and walrus/walruses. 

Irregular plurals that are formed like platypi, such as cactus/cacti and fungus/fungi, derive directly from their original pluralization in Latin. However, the standard English plural -es ending is often also acceptable for these terms, as in cactuses.