Prawn

Prawn is a common name sometimes applied to large swimming crustaceans, particularly in Britain and Commonwealth nations, which may also be referred to as shrimp. Significant commercial species, valued for their eating qualities, tend to be large, and thus tend to be called prawns. Shrimp that fall in this category often belong to the suborder Dendrobranchiata. The term is only rarely used in North America, and typically for freshwater shrimp.

In the United Kingdom the word "prawn" is more common on menus than "shrimp", while the opposite is the case in the United States. The term "prawn" is also loosely used to describe any large shrimp, especially those that come 15 (or fewer) to the pound (such as "king prawns", yet sometimes known as "jumbo shrimp"). When Australian comedian Paul Hogan used the phrase, "I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you" in an United States television advertisement, it was intended to make what he was saying understandable to United States audiences, and was not what an Australian would normally say.