<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>the highly polished, usually brightly colored shell of a marine gastropod of the genus <em>Cypraea</em>, as that of <em>C. moneta</em> (money cowrie), used as money in certain parts of Asia and Africa, or that of <em>C. tigris</em>, used for ornament</li><li>the gastropod itself</li></ul>