feeler

«feeler» in Mova's school dictionary: a long, thin part on the head of an insect, snail or… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a feeler, feelers)

meaning for a pupil

1) A feeler is a long, thin part on the head of an insect, snail or other small animal, used to touch, smell and sense the world; scientists call insect feelers antennae. tree →

2) (informal) To put out feelers means to quietly try to find out what people think before you decide something. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science lessons on minibeasts, ants, beetles, butterflies and snails all have feelers; a snail pulls its feelers in when touched, and its eyes are on the tips of its long top pair. Insects have two feelers. In everyday adult life, «putting out feelers» means asking around carefully. Phrases: «long feelers», «waved its feelers», «put out feelers».

examples

• The beetle waved its feelers in the air. tree →
• When I touched the snail, it pulled its feelers in. tree →
• Ants touch feelers to pass messages to each other. tree →
• Butterflies have club-shaped feelers. tree →
• A snail's eyes are at the ends of its long feelers. tree →
• Dad put out feelers to see if any shop had the game in stock. tree →
• ‘She has no feelers!’ cried another. tree →

note

Plural «feelers». The scientific word is «antenna» (plural «antennae»). Trap: «feeler» is not a person who feels; it is a body part (or the phrase «put out feelers»).

In the corpora

• Cave crickets have very long legs and feelers because in the dark touch is more useful than sight.
• Like all insects, ants have six legs, three body parts and two feelers.
• Like all insects, a beetle has six legs, three body parts and two feelers.
• Daddy shows her how to make the drawing simpler and clearer, with the feeler across the mouth.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «feeler» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.