retractile

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

That this may be more perfectly accomplished, these arms are studded along their inner surface with rows of sucking discs, in each of which, by means of a retractile piston, a vacuum can be produced.

From Sea Monsters Unmasked and Sea Fables Explained by Lee, H. W. (Henry William)

The pseudopods are retractile, the axial filament being absorbed as the filament grows shorter and thicker and disappearing when the pseudopod merges into the ectoplasm, to be reformed at the same time with the pseudopod.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 2 "Hearing" to "Helmond" by Various

The brownish fins were rigid as metal, the retractile claws unsheathed and cruelly curved.

From The Terror from the Depths by Wright, Sewell Peaslee

The jaws were widely extended, so that the sharp retractile teeth were plainly visible, and the forked tongue at intervals was shot forward, and gleamed in the sun.

From The Young Yagers A Narrative of Hunting Adventures in Southern Africa by Reid, Mayne

The arteries are highly elastic, being extensile and retractile both in length and breadth.

From Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by Michener, Charles B.