scorpion

/ˈskɔː.pi.ən/US/ˈskɔɹ.pi.ən/

scorpion noun: any of the order Scorpiones of arachnids related to spiders, characterised by two large front pincers and a curved tail with a venomous sting at the end.

Image: Chris huh, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

scorpion (plural scorpions)

Any of the order Scorpiones of arachnids related to spiders, characterised by two large front pincers and a curved tail with a venomous sting at the end.
- Who led thee through that great and terrible wildernesse, wherein were fierie serpents, and scorpions, & drought, where there was no water, who brought thee foorth water out of the rocke of flint,1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 8:15
- I have caught them under my pillow and on my head; while in every box, and under every board which has lain for some days undisturbed, little scorpions are sure to be found snugly ensconced, with their formidable tails quickly turned up ready for attack or defence.1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., page 258
(historical) An ancient military engine for hurling stones and other missiles.
(figuratively) A very spiteful or vindictive person.
A cheerleading move in which one foot is pulled back and held up with both hands while the performer stands on the other foot.
(obsolete) A whip with points like a scorpion's tail.
- And now whereas my father did lade you with a heauy yoke, I wil adde to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whippes, but I will chastise you with scorpions.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 12:11

Proper noun capitalized: Scorpion

the Scorpion

The constellation and zodiacal sign Scorpius.
- And now thir way to Earth they had descri'd, / To Paradise first tending, when behold / Satan in likeness of an Angel bright / Betwixt the Centaure and the Scorpion stearing / His Zenith, while the Sun in Aries rose […]1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker...
- The Scorpion keepeth the Bladder, Buttocks, and other privatives [sic] of Man or Woman.1668, ‘Godfridus’, The Knowledge of Things Unknown, London: G.P. for G. Sawbridge, page 20

Noun (2) capitalized: Scorpion

Scorpion (plural Scorpions)

Someone with the Scorpio star sign.
- No racketting around and cocktail parties for those born under the influence of the Water-carrier and the Archer. No nylons for Scorpions.1947 November 14, Mountain District Free Press and Frentree Gully News, Tecoma, Vic., page 8, column 2

Adjective capitalized: Scorpion

Scorpion (not comparable)

Of or relating to the Scorpio star sign.

scorpion meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

scorpion in Hindi

any of various arachnids of the order Scorpiones: बिच्छू bicchū, बिच्छी bicchī, वृश्चिक vŕścik

scorpion in Tamil

any of various arachnids of the order Scorpiones: தேள் tēḷ, நளி naḷi

scorpion in Marathi

any of various arachnids of the order Scorpiones: विंचू viñcū

scorpion in Urdu

any of various arachnids of the order Scorpiones: بچھو bicchū, بچھی bicchī, عقرب aqrab

More languagesFewer languages

scorpion in Bengali: বিছা bicha, বিচ্ছু bicchu, বৃশ্চিক briścik
scorpion in Telugu: తేలు tēlu, వృశ్చికము vr̥ścikamu
scorpion in Malayalam: തേൾ tēḷ
scorpion in Kannada: ಚೇಳು cēḷu
scorpion in Punjabi: ਬਿੱਛੂ bicchū, ਠੂਹਾਂ ṭhūhā̃
scorpion in Gujarati: વીંછી vī̃chī
scorpion in Sanskrit: वृश्चिक vṛścika
scorpion in Sinhala: ගෝනුස්සා gōnussā
scorpion in Assamese: কেঁকোৰাবিছা kẽkürabisa, ভালুক-মকৰা bhaluk-mokora, বৃশ্চিক brissik, বিচ্ছু bissu
scorpion in Nepali: बिच्छी bicchī
scorpion in Pashto: لړم laṛam
scorpion in Tagalog: atang-atang, alakdan, pitumbuko
scorpion in Arabic: عَقْرَب ʕaqrab, عَقْرَبَة ʕaqraba, عَقْرَبَاء ʕaqrabāʔ, عَقْرُبَان ʕaqrubān
scorpion in Malay: kala jengking
scorpion in Indonesian: kalajengking
scorpion in Persian: عقرب 'aqrab, کژدم každom, گزدم gazdom
scorpion in Thai: แมงป่อง mɛɛng-bpɔ̀ng, พฤศจิก prʉ́t-sà-jìk
scorpion in Vietnamese: bò cạp, bọ cạp
scorpion in Myanmar: ကင်းမြီးကောက် kang:mri:kauk

Examples of scorpion in a sentence

The cave was populated by albino scorpions, blind salamanders, and other troglodytes.
The hypotensin TsHpt-I from the yellow scorpion Tityus serrulatus and the Bj-BPP-5a from the B.
It is, however, highly homologous to the scorpion insectotoxins derived from Buthus eupeus venom.

All 16 example sentences with scorpion

Forms of scorpion

plural	scorpions
plural	Scorpions
alternative form (archaic)	skorpion

Plural of scorpion: scorpions

Origin of scorpion

From Middle English scorpioun, skorpioun, schorpion, schorpiun, partly from Old English sċorpio and partly from Anglo-Norman scorpïun, Old French scorpïon, escorpïon; all from Latin scorpiō, ultimately from Ancient Greek σκορπίος (skorpíos). The cheerleading move is so called because of the resemblance of the raised foot to a scorpion's stinger. Displaced native Old English þrōwend (“scorpion”).

From the animal scorpion, from Latin scorpio (“scorpion”).

Phrases with scorpion

Questions about scorpion

What does scorpion mean?: Scorpion means any of the order Scorpiones of arachnids related to spiders, characterised by two large front pincers and a curved tail with a venomous sting at the end.
What is scorpion in Hindi?: Scorpion in Hindi is बिच्छू (bicchū), बिच्छी (bicchī), वृश्चिक (vŕścik). See Scorpion meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is scorpion?: Scorpion can be a noun, a proper noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce scorpion?: Scorpion is pronounced /ˈskɔː.pi.ən/ (UK).
What is the plural of scorpion?: The plural of scorpion is scorpions.

Words near scorpion in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: scorpion (page history and authors); Scorpion (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-scorpion.wav.

Cite this entry: “scorpion.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/scorpion. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.