1. a free-swimming larval stage of sea urchins and brittle stars
Usage: biology
2. a low wall or barrier, especially one used as a parapet or screen
Usage: architecture; historical

Examples

• The pluteus larva develops bilateral symmetry before metamorphosis.
• Marine biologists studied the pluteus stage in sea urchin development.
• The pluteus transforms into the adult echinoderm form.
• Ancient Roman buildings often featured a pluteus along the roofline.
• The stone pluteus served as a decorative screen in the basilica.
• Archaeologists discovered fragments of an ornate pluteus at the site.