large shrimp; king prawn; lobster
Refers to large shrimp or prawns, especially in culinary contexts. In some regions or older usage, can also refer to lobster, but modern Japanese usually distinguishes lobster as 伊勢海老 (いせえび).
Tonight's dinner is large shrimp tempura.
I bought fresh king prawns at the market.
海老 is the general term for shrimp/prawn of any size, while 大海老 specifically means large shrimp or prawns.
伊勢海老 is the standard word for spiny lobster, whereas 大海老 can sometimes refer to lobster in older or regional usage but is now mostly used for large shrimp.
Standard kanji spelling for large shrimp/prawns.
Mixed kanji-katakana spelling, common in menus and casual writing.
Rare kanji form using 蝦; 海老 is much more common.
Compound of 大 (おお, 'big') and 海老 (えび, 'shrimp/prawn'). The kanji 海老 literally means 'sea old man', a reference to the curved back of a shrimp resembling an elderly person.