soft-shell


soft-shell

or soft·shell (sôft′shĕl′, sŏft′-)adj. also soft-shelled (-shĕld′) Having a soft, brittle, or unhardened shell, often as the result of a recent molt.n. A soft-shell aquatic animal.

soft′-shell`



adj. 1. Also, soft′-shelled′. having a soft, flexible, or fragile shell, as a crab that has recently molted. n. 2. a soft-shell animal, esp. a soft-shell crab. [1795–1805]