Meaning & use
langostino
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable or uncountable
A small shellfish related to the squat lobster whose sweet tail meat is eaten and often sold as a cheaper substitute for lobster.
Grammar: Countable for the animals, uncountable for the meat: two langostinos, but some langostino.
Patterns
- langostino tails
- langostino meat
The restaurant served langostino tails in a garlic sauce.
Langostino tastes sweet, a little like lobster or shrimp.
She added langostino to the pasta instead of lobster.
Word forms
| plural | langostinos |
|---|
Common combinations
- langostino tails
- We ordered a plate of langostino tails.
- langostino meat
- Langostino meat is sold frozen in bags.
- langostino bisque
- The langostino bisque was creamy and rich.
- langostino lobster
- Langostino lobster appears on many casual menus.
- langostino roll
- The cafe's langostino roll comes with fries.
Synonyms and how they differ
- squat lobster
- Is the animal's common biological name, whereas langostino is the market and menu name.
- lobster
- Is a true lobster with larger claws and a different taste, so langostino is not the same.
- shrimp
- Is a different, smaller shellfish; langostino meat is sweeter and closer to lobster.
- prawn
- Is a larger shrimp-like creature, still unrelated to langostino.
Word family
- langostine noun
- an alternative spelling used for the same shellfish
- langoustine noun
- a different shellfish, the Norway lobster
- lobster noun
- a large clawed shellfish
Commonly confused: langostino or langoustine?
langostino vs langoustine
Langoustines are slim, clawed Atlantic crustaceans, also called Dublin Bay prawns; langostinos are small squat lobsters from different waters.
Practice
What is a langostino?
Choose one answer.
Langostino is a small shellfish with sweet tail meat, often substituted for lobster. The other options are unrelated foods or activities.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “langostino”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.