Meaning & use

exoskeleton

noun·Academic

A hard external skeleton that supports and protects the body of an animal such as an insect or crab.

See it in a sentence

A lobster must shed its exoskeleton periodically in order to grow larger.

Engineers designed a robotic exoskeleton to help paralyzed patients walk again.

A note on using this word

'Exoskeleton' contrasts with 'endoskeleton', the internal bone structure found in humans and other vertebrates.

Words with a similar meaning

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