krill

American

[kril] / krɪl /

noun

plural

krill

any of the small, pelagic, shrimplike crustaceans of the family Euphausiidae, eaten as food by certain whales.

krill British

/ krɪl /

noun

any small shrimplike marine crustacean of the order Euphausiacea : the principal food of whalebone whales

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

krill Scientific

/ krĭl /

Small crustaceans that float in the ocean in huge numbers and are one of the most important parts of zooplankton. Krill are the main food of baleen whales.

Etymology

Origin of krill

First recorded in 1905–10, krill is from the Norwegian word kril young fry (of fish)

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

These microscopic plants form the foundation of the food web, feeding krill that sustain penguins, seals, and whales.

From Science Daily

But no, Scottish salmon gets its color largely from its diet of shrimp and krill.

From Salon

"Phytoplankton are the primary source of food for krill, the microscopic shrimp that are the main source of food in the Southern Ocean for virtually every animal, including penguins, seals, walruses and whales," Falkowski said.

From Science Daily

The twilight zone teems with life, including krill, squid, fish, octopus, and delicate jelly-like species.

From Science Daily

However, their main food source, krill, is threatened by climate change.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023