opossum
7
5.1
- noun
- /əˈpɑsəm/
:
zarigüeya
- The opossum curled up in a ball to avoid the cold winter night.
- raccoons and opossums
- opossums and porcupines
- opossums and armadillos
A rat about the size of a possum.
- A rat about the size of a possum.
- This is the fifth time I've had possums visit us.
- It's a proprietary mix of Opossum, adrenal gland excretions and my own mucus.
Examples
-
Other wildlife around the lake includes deer, coyotes, rabbits, raccoons, and opossums.
Academic text (2002) -
Little Opossum scrambled up a tree and down the other side.
Fiction book (1998) -
When the sun nestled into the hills to sleep, Little Opossum came out to play.
Fiction book (1998) -
The prettiest opossum always rides in front.
-
Little Opossum darted under a root and wiggled happily out the other side.
Fiction book (1998) -
Her lab maintains a breeding colony of gray short-tailed opossums.
Academic text (2007) -
But the breeze tickled Little Opossum's whiskers, and the sharp, clean scent of pine needles filled the air.
Fiction book (1998) -
I spotted an opossum climbing a tree while hiking in the woods.
-
Our backyard has become a shelter for an opossum looking for food.
Synonyms
54
1.9
A small furry animal with a long tail that lives in trees and carries babies in a pouch
Compounds
A medium-sized mammal from the Americas that carries its young in a pouch and plays dead when threatened
- US
A small mammal from southern South America that looks like a shrew and carries its young in a pouch
- Specialized
A small shrimp-like animal whose females carry eggs and young in a pouch under their legs
- US
A medium-sized tree that grows in the southeastern United States with leaves that turn golden in autumn
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word opossum comes from a Native American word aposoum meaning 'white animal', a name early people used for the small animal with a pale face that carries its babies in a pouch. So opossum became the English name for this tree-living animal we still call an opossum today.