octopus: Meaning and Definition of

oc•to•pus

Pronunciation: (ok'tu-pus), [key]
— pl. -pus•es, -pi
  1. any octopod of the genus Octopus, having a soft, oval body and eight sucker-bearing arms, living mostly at the bottom of the sea.
  2. something likened to an octopus, as an organization with many forms of far-reaching influence or control.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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