barnacle: Meaning and Definition of

bar•na•cle

Pronunciation: (bär'nu-kul), [key]
— n.
  1. any marine crustacean of the subclass Cirripedia, usually having a calcareous shell, being either stalkedand attaching itself to ship bottoms and floating timber, or stalklessand attaching itself to rocks, esp. in the intertidal zone.
  2. a person or thing that clings tenaciously.

bar•na•cle

Pronunciation: (bär'nu-kul), [key]
— n.
  1. Usually,an instrument with two hinged branches for pinching the nose of an unruly horse.
  2. spectacles.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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