opossum
part of speech
noun (an opossum, opossums); informal: possum
meaning for a pupil
1) An opossum is a North and South American marsupial about the size of a cat, with a pointed white face, bare ears and a long, bare tail that can grip branches. tree →
2) In Australia and New Zealand, «possum» is a different marsupial: a furry tree animal like the brushtail possum. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons opossums are the only marsupials (mammals with a pouch) in North America; babies, born tiny, grow in the mother's pouch and later ride on her back. When scared, an opossum may «play dead» — it falls over, lies still and smells bad — the origin of the phrase «playing possum». In New Zealand, introduced Australian possums are pests that damage forests and birds. Phrases: «play possum», «Virginia opossum».
examples
- The opossum hung from the branch by its tail. tree →
- A mother opossum carried her babies on her back. tree →
- The opossum played dead when the dog sniffed it. tree →
- «Playing possum» means pretending to be asleep or dead. tree →
- Opossums are the only marsupials in North America. tree →
- In Australia, a brushtail possum lived in our roof! tree →
note
Plural «opossums». Use «an»: «an opossum». In North America people often drop the o and say «possum». Trap: American opossums and Australian possums are different animals, though both are marsupials. Myth: opossums don't hang by their tails to sleep.
In the corpora
- And the Australian possum living in a roof is a different animal from the American opossum, though both carry their babies in pouches.
- Opossums are marsupials: the tiny babies grow in their mother's pouch and later ride on her back.
- The Virginia opossum has fifty teeth, more than any other North American land mammal, and eats almost anything.
- A raccoon, an opossum and a skunk each have four legs, one tail and a coat of fur.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «opossum» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.