Spanish word

caracol

Pronunciation

IPA/kaɾaˈkol/

Meaning

  • masculine nounsnail

Example

¿Has visto un caracol en el jardín?

Have you seen a snail in the garden?

Illustration for caracol (snail)

More examples

La espiral de la concha tiene forma de caracol.

The spiral of the shell is snail-shaped.

Core concept

Small soft-bodied mollusk with a coiled spiral shell.

Common phrases

  • caracol de jardín

    garden snail

  • forma de caracol

    snail-shaped

Similar words

babosa: Small soft-bodied land mollusk without a shell that crawls on damp surfaces.
concha: Hard external shell of a mollusk or other sea creature, often spiral or cup-shaped.

Definition in Spanish

Animal pequeño de cuerpo blando y protección en forma de concha espiral, habitual en lugares húmedos como jardines.

Word origin

From Latin caracolus via Romance languages, originally referring to a small spiral shell and later to the animal living inside.

Usage tips

  • On Spanish menus caracoles often means edible snails served as tapas and in everyday speech caracol commonly appears in similes for slowness, as in más lento que un caracol.

Other meanings

  • sea snailnoun
  • spiralnoun

Word lists with this word