What Is the Plural of Octopus?

Watery Octopus Tentacles
Octopus Tentacles. doodlemachine / Getty Images
By
Grace Fleming
Education Expert
  • M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
  • B.A., History, Armstrong State University
Grace Fleming, M.Ed., is a senior academic advisor at Georgia Southern University, where she helps students improve their academic performance and develop good study skills.
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Grace Fleming
Updated May 06, 2019

Question: What Is the Plural of Octopus?

Answer: You really can't go wrong if you try to come up with a plural for octopus on your own. Like many nouns, it has a few acceptable plural forms. The correct forms are octopuses, octopodes, or octopi.

Advice: stick with octopuses in the U.S. It is the most commonly-accepted plural form of octopus.

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Fleming, Grace. "What Is the Plural of Octopus?" ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/what-is-the-plural-of-octopus-1857291. Fleming, Grace. (2020, August 27). What Is the Plural of Octopus? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-the-plural-of-octopus-1857291 Fleming, Grace. "What Is the Plural of Octopus?" ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-the-plural-of-octopus-1857291 (accessed January 24, 2021).