The Lexx is a bioengineered, Manhattan-sized, planet-destroying, living starship in the shape of a giant wingless dragonfly. It was grown by ingesting organ collections on the Cluster, the seat of the Divine Order, for use by His Divine Shadow. The Lexx was originally intended as the ultimate deterrent: the threat of a weapon that could instantly obliterate any planet would keep the remaining "Heretic" worlds of the Light Universe in line, and those that refused to capitulate would be summarily destroyed to reinforce the point. This plan was foiled when the crew commandeered it to escape from the Cluster.

The most important function of the Lexx is its ability to destroy entire planets with a single, high-powered blast. Its primary — and only — weapon is initiated by command from the captain only, followed by a highly dramatic sequence when the Ocular Parabola found on the surface of its eye tissue flips from a smooth surfaced dome into a complex array of satellite dish-like structures. Huge amounts of yellowish-orange particles are released en masse from the array and focused by Lexx's nervous system to a point just above its mouth. Once focused, the particles burst into a massive, forward-moving, planar wave which expands ahead of the Lexx exponentially until colliding with an object of sufficient mass to disperse it, usually a planet. The wave instantly vaporizes smaller ships without losing momentum. Though the Lexx is designed to destroy entire planets, it can fire less intense blasts to hit smaller targets; however, the smallest area it seems capable of destroying is roughly the size of an entire city.

A special living energy being known as the "key" is required to control the Lexx, and it will usually only respond to the one who has it. A special holographic handscanner on the bridge confirms that the captain of the ship possesses the key, but after this point the captain can control the Lexx though voice commands.

The Lexx itself is intelligent, but not much so. The show's creators have it compared to a dog. The Lexx often takes orders literally, even when it's not being addressed directly (Stan accidentally orders the Lexx to destroy a moon when he explains its function to some astronauts). It acknowledges commands and comments with a droning, simple male voice; for example, "As you command, Stan." The Lexx has emotions (it actively enjoys destroying planets, for instance, and becomes rather petulant when denied the opportunity), and is, to a small extent, capable of acting of its own accord. In the final episode of the show, as the Lexx is dying, it tells Stan that he was always its favorite captain, since they both enjoy destroying planets.

Being alive, the Lexx needs to eat to function. It can digest any form of organic matter, and will usually land on a planet's surface to scoop up suitable organic foodstuffs; however, it is content to simply blow-up a planet and feast on the sizable chunks. When denied food, the Lexx can become rather cranky, but will always attempt to follow orders no matter what is happening. The moral dilemma of destroying inhabited worlds for Lexx's functioning and survival is a recurring plot theme, and occasionally Lexx will swallow passing ships without informing the crew. Another means of collecting energy is to "resorb" discarded items left on its floors.

The Lexx has various amenities for the crew, though unusual in their implementation. It has showers which use long, phallic, writhing shower-heads that are activated by squeezing a pair of nearby balls. It also has a practical if appalling toilet system; living commodes that use large, waggling tongues for user sanitation. A cryo-chamber is also available.

The Lexx also hosts a contingent of smaller bio-engineered ornithopter-like craft called "moths", which the crew often use for short-range travel in space, in a planet's atmosphere, or even within the vast Lexx itself. The moths are insect-like ships (as befits their name), and twitter constantly as they travel. The moths fly themselves, with the joystick only used to direct their movement. The moth only uses its wings when in an atmosphere, and has a "jet pack" of sorts on its underbelly when travelling through space. Stan usually sleeps in the husk of one of the dead moths. The Lexx has a crew of moth breeders, zombie-like human slaves re-engineered entirely for moth breeding, to produce these craft when necessary.

The technological irony of the Lexx is apparent in its tremendously specialized function and organic body. An example of this is the complete and utter lack of a diversified weapons system, which is not common to most science fiction warships. Also, the Lexx has an incredibly soft exoskeleton, especially on the eyes, leaving it vulnerable to offensive attacks. The follies of Lexx's engineering are apparent throughout the series, mainly because it has no internal defences or even a properly protected landing bay. The best that can be said for it throughout the entire show's run is that the bridge can be sealed. However, it is probable that His Divine Shadow purposefully made the Lexx weak in order to minimize the potential damage if it were ever captured by heretics: originally, the Lexx could not fire on ships belonging to the Cluster, and its planet-killer weapon could be easily predicted and dodged by sufficiently maneuverable ships anyway. Since His Divine Shadow had an entire fleet to under his command to protect the vessel, this would not present a problem when it was used by him.

The Lexx's gender is a matter of some mystery. The exterior of the Lexx may be described as suggestive of a stylized female (human-like) form, viewed from below, with a skeletal spinal column extending away, and with folded-over legs ("Leggs") hidden from view and thus not present. This possible explanation of both the ship's design and its name Lexx (as a homophone of "legs") is certainly in keeping with the risque and sometimes vulgar tone of the series. Another unsubstantiated view is that the name "Lexx" is the namesake of Lex Gigeroff, one of the writers. However, according to IMDB, "The name of the ship should have been Lex (Latin for 'law') but because there was a writer named Lex, they changed the name of the ship to Lexx - to avoid people thinking it was named after him."

When the Lexx arrives on Earth, it becomes pregnant, suggesting that the ship is in fact female even though it speaks in a male voice (in the English-language version; the version shown in Germany gave the ship a female voice). Similarly, when a sex-changing virus sweeps through the ship, the Lexx is affected and develops stereotypical feminine characteristics, suggesting that it is normally male. It seems likely that the ship is actually hermaphroditic, although this has never been specifically revealed.

The Lexx ages several thousand years during the run of the series, and in later seasons its advanced age and decrepitude following millennia of starvation and neglect lead to it becoming increasingly unstable. In the final episode of the series, Lexx dies shortly after giving birth to a smaller, very Lexx-like ship, the result of a brief union with an insect from Earth.

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