prawn

A prawn is a small sea animal with a shell, like a shrimp, and people often eat it as seafood. In everyday use, "prawn" and "shrimp" are often used for very similar animals, though in biology they can be grouped differently. The word is common on menus, in recipes, and in food shops. You might see prawns grilled, fried, boiled, or added to dishes like curry, pasta, stir-fries, and paella.

The word "prawn" refers to a shellfish that lives in water and looks very much like a shrimp. In everyday English, "prawn" and "shrimp" are often used in similar ways, especially when people are talking about food. In more exact biological use, the two words can refer to different groups of animals, but ordinary speakers do not always keep that distinction clear. Because of that, the same animal may be called a prawn in one place and a shrimp in another.

Prawns are widely eaten around the world and are used in many kinds of cooking. People may grill, fry, steam, boil, or saute them, and they appear in dishes such as curries, stir-fries, pasta, soups, and rice dishes. On menus and food packages, the word usually points to the animal as food rather than to a scientific category.

The word is especially common in British English, Australian English, and other varieties of English outside the United States, where "shrimp" is often more common in everyday speech. So if you read about prawns in a recipe or hear someone order them in a restaurant, they are usually talking about a shrimp-like shellfish that is cooked and eaten as seafood.