hairball

«hairball» in Mova's school dictionary: A ball of hair that forms in the stomach of an animal… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a hairball, hairballs)

meaning for a pupil

1) A ball of hair that forms in the stomach of an animal, especially a cat, after it licks its fur, and is then coughed up. tree →

2) (informal) A tangle of hair, for example in a hairbrush or plughole. tree →

sense in the lessons

In pet care, cats swallow fur when they wash; brushing them helps prevent hairballs. Vets give advice if a cat has too many. In stories and cartoons, a cat coughing up a hairball is a common funny or gross moment.

examples

• The cat coughed up a hairball on the rug. tree →
• Brushing your cat helps stop hairballs. tree →
• Long-haired cats get more hairballs. tree →
• Dad pulled a huge hairball out of the shower drain. tree →
• The vet gave us food that reduces hairballs. tree →

note

One word. Countable. Not dangerous usually, but if a cat cannot bring one up, see a vet.

Trees and pragmatics

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