Definition of barnacle Barnacle

/bɑˈɹnʌkʌl/ - [barnukul] - bar•na•cle

We found 20 definitions of barnacle from 7 different sources.

What does barnacle mean?

Noun Plural: barnacles
barnacle - marine crustaceans with feathery food-catching appendages; free-swimming as larvae; as adults form a hard shell and live attached to submerged surfaces
		cirriped, cirripede
		crustacean any mainly aquatic arthropod usually having a segmented body and chitinous exoskeleton
		cirripedia, subclass cirripedia barnacles
		acorn barnacle, balanus balanoides, rock barnacle barnacle that attaches to rocks especially in intertidal zones
barnacle - European goose smaller than the brant; breeds in the far north
		barnacle goose, Branta leucopsis
		goose web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks

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barnacle (Noun)
A marine crustacean of the subclass Cirripedia that attaches itself to submerged surfaces such as tidal rocks or the bottoms of ships.
barnacle (Noun)
The barnacle goose .
barnacle (Noun)
In electrical engineering , a change made to a product on the manufacturing floor that was not part of the original product design.
barnacle (Noun)
On printed circuit board s, a change such as soldering a wire in order to connect two points, or addition such as an added resistor or capacitor, subassembly or daughterboard.
barnacle (Noun)
An instrument like a pair of pincers, to fix on the nose of a vicious horse while shoeing so as to make it more tractable.
barnacle (Noun)
A nickname for spectacles.
barnacle (Noun)
A good job, or snack easily obtained.
barnacle (Verb)
To connect with or attach.
barnacle (Verb)
To press close against something.

barnacle (n.)
Any cirriped crustacean adhering to rocks, floating timber, ships, etc., esp. (a) the sessile species (genus Balanus and allies), and (b) the stalked or goose barnacles (genus Lepas and allies). See Cirripedia, and Goose barnacle.
barnacle (n.)
A bernicle goose.
barnacle (n.)
An instrument for pinching a horse's nose, and thus restraining him.
barnacle (sing.)
Spectacles; -- so called from their resemblance to the barnacles used by farriers.

barnacle
bär′na-kl, n. a shellfish which adheres to rocks and the bottoms of ships: a companion who sticks closely.—n. Bar′nacle-goose, a species of wild goose belonging to the Northern seas, so called from a notion that they were produced from the barnacles mentioned. [O. Fr. bernaque—Low L. bernaca; by some referred to a supposed form pernacula, dim. of perna, a kind of shellfish; by others to a Celtic origin.]
barnacle
bär′na-kl, n. an instrument consisting of two branches joined by a hinge, placed on the nose of horses to keep them quiet: (pl.) a colloquial term for 'spectacles.'—adj. Bar′nacled. [O. Fr. bernac, of which bernacle seems to be a dim. form. The sense of 'spectacles' has been traced to O. Fr. bericle, eye-glass—berillus, beryl; but this is improbable.]

barnacle
A good job, or snack easily got: also shellfish growing at the bottoms of ships; a bird of the goose kind; an instrument like a pair of pincers, to fix on the noses of vicious horses whilst shoeing; a nick name for spectacles, and also for the gratuity given to grooms by the buyers and sellers of horses.

A barnacle is an animal. It is a kind of crustacean that grows on different hard surfaces like piers, boats, and on rocks. Barnacles are family of crabs and shrimps. They are considered mostly a nuisance to the shipping industry and private boat owners. Barnacles are filter feeders, which means that they suck in water and filter out different things like plankton to use as food. The barnacles send out little larvae that land on other hard surfaces and start to create hard shells, forming new barnacles.