Definition of "tunicate" []

• Any of various chordate marine animals of the subphylum Tunicata or Urochordata having a cylindrical or globular body enclosed in a tough outer covering and including the sea squirts and salps. (noun)
• Of or relating to the tunicates. (adjective)
• Anatomy Having a tunic. (adjective)
• Botany Having a tunic, as the bulb of an onion. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The predatory tunicate, a species of sea squirt, looks like a voracious, headless mouth on a glass stalk, and is unique among tunicates in being a true predator — its mouth closing swiftly on shrimp and other crustaceans that stray into it."
• "In the same way we can infer intelligence behind adding pictures to the same slide as he names them a fruit fly, a tunicate, a panda bear, a little girl, or Richard Dawkins."
• "And not just because of what the ride does to the poor helpless tunicate population, who should be calling an attorney right now and suing for misrepresentation, except, chances are, they're a bit short of cash at the moment."