puffball

«puffball» in Mova's school dictionary: A round fungus (mushroom) without a cap or stalk, white… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a puffball, puffballs)

meaning for a pupil

1) A round fungus (mushroom) without a cap or stalk, white or brown, that bursts and puffs out a cloud of spores like dust when it is old. tree →

2) Anything round, soft and fluffy, like a dandelion clock or a fluffy chick (informal). tree →

sense in the lessons

In nature lessons, puffballs show how fungi spread spores. Giant puffballs can grow as big as a football. In stories, a puffball can be a fluffy pet or a cloud. Safety: only experts should pick fungi to eat. Phrases: «giant puffball», «puff of spores».

examples

• When I stepped on the puffball, a brown cloud of spores came out. tree →
• We found a giant puffball in the field. tree →
• Puffballs spread their spores in the wind. tree →
• The kitten was a tiny white puffball. tree →
• Never eat a wild puffball unless an expert checks it. tree →
• Puffballs have no gills like other mushrooms. tree →

note

Countable; one word. Safety: some young poisonous mushrooms look like puffballs, so do not touch or eat wild fungi without an adult expert. The «smoke» is millions of spores, not smoke.

Trees and pragmatics

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