zebra mussel

1. 1.

   inch long mollusk imported accidentally from Europe; clogs utility inlet pipes and feeds on edible freshwater mussels

   SynonymsDreissena polymorpha

   Broaderfreshwater mussel

   Part ofDreissena

Questions about zebra mussel

What does zebra mussel mean?

zebra mussel means "inch long mollusk imported accidentally from Europe; clogs utility inlet pipes and feeds on edible freshwater mussels".

What is another word for zebra mussel?

Close synonyms include Dreissena polymorpha. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is zebra mussel a common word?

zebra mussel is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.