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# fungus

«fungus» in Mova's school dictionary: **a living thing such as a mushroom, toadstool, mould or…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (fungus, fungi or funguses; also uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A fungus is a living thing such as a mushroom, toadstool, mould or yeast that is neither a plant nor an animal; it feeds on dead or living things. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fungus/#m1)

2) Fungus is a growth of mould on food, walls or skin. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fungus/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons, fungi are decomposers that break down dead leaves and logs; yeast makes bread rise; mould grows on old bread; some fungi cause athlete's foot. In safety, never eat wild mushrooms — some are deadly poisonous. Phrases: «fungus on the bread», «grow fungus», «fungal infection».

### examples

- A mushroom is a kind of fungus. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fungus/#x1)
- Fungi help break down dead leaves on the forest floor. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fungus/#x2)
- There's green fungus on that old bread. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fungus/#x3)
- Yeast is a tiny fungus used to make bread. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fungus/#x4)
- Never pick and eat wild fungi. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fungus/#x5)
- Athlete's foot is caused by a fungus. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fungus/#x6)
- Fungus grew on the damp wall. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fungus/#x7)
- But Iktomi's ears were like the fungus on a tree. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fungus/#x8)

### note

Plural: usually «fungi» (said «FUN-gy» or «FUN-ghee»), sometimes «funguses». Adjective: «fungal». Fungi are not plants: they do not make their own food from sunlight. Not a number word.

### In the corpora

- [Leafcutter ants do not eat the leaves they carry: they chew them to grow a fungus garden underground and eat the fungus.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/36-insects-six-legs-ants-bees-and-wasps/9/)
- [Leafcutter ants cut and carry leaves but do not eat them; they grow a fungus on chewed leaf paste and eat the fungus.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/157-the-amazon-forest-floor/4/)
- [A big leafcutter nest can hold millions of ants, and they have farmed fungus for millions of years, long before people farmed.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/157-the-amazon-forest-floor/5/)
- [The fungus brings the tree water and minerals, and the tree pays the fungus with sugar made in its leaves.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/252-plants-deeper-do-trees-talk-fungi-warning-smells-and-giant-clones/9/)
- [Old forests with big trees store huge amounts of carbon and are home to many fungi and creatures.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/252-plants-deeper-do-trees-talk-fungi-warning-smells-and-giant-clones/20/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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