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# cocoon

«cocoon» in Mova's school dictionary: **a silky case that some insect larvae, like moths and…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a cocoon, cocoons); verb (cocoon, cocoons, cocooned, cocooning)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A cocoon is a silky case that some insect larvae, like moths and silkworms, spin around themselves to change into adults. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cocoon/#m1)

2) A cocoon is any soft, warm, safe covering that wraps around someone: «a cocoon of blankets». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cocoon/#m2)

3) To cocoon someone is to wrap them up or protect them from the world. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cocoon/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons on life cycles, a caterpillar becomes a pupa inside a cocoon (moths) or a chrysalis (butterflies), then comes out as an adult — this is metamorphosis. Silk comes from silkworm cocoons. In stories, a character cocooned in a sleeping bag feels safe. Phrases: «spin a cocoon», «come out of the cocoon», «a cocoon of blankets».

### examples

- The caterpillar spun a cocoon on the branch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cocoon/#x1)
- A moth came out of the cocoon. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cocoon/#x2)
- Silk is made from silkworm cocoons. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cocoon/#x3)
- I was cocooned in my sleeping bag. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cocoon/#x4)
- Inside the cocoon, the caterpillar changes completely. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cocoon/#x5)
- The baby was cocooned in a soft blanket. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cocoon/#x6)
- Butterflies make a chrysalis, not a cocoon. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cocoon/#x7)
- Don't open a cocoon; let the insect come out by itself. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cocoon/#x8)

### note

Spelling: cocoon (double o twice: c-o-c-o-o-n). Science trap: moths make silky cocoons; butterflies form a hard chrysalis. People often mix these up.

### In the corpora

- [A moth's caterpillar often makes a silk cocoon before it changes, but a butterfly's caterpillar makes a bare chrysalis.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/219-butterflies-moths-and-ladybirds/17/)
- [The Chinese learned to make silk from the cocoons of silkworms that eat mulberry leaves, and kept the method secret for centuries.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/10-ancient-china-paper-silk-the-silk-road-and-confucius/7/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «cocoon» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cocoon/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.