[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/mongoose.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / mongoose

[← M](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/M/)

# mongoose

«mongoose» in Mova's school dictionary: **a small, fast, furry animal with a long body and tail…** — 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 (a mongoose, mongooses)

### meaning for a pupil

A mongoose is a small, fast, furry animal with a long body and tail, from Africa and Asia, famous for fighting and killing snakes, including cobras. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In stories, the most famous mongoose is Rikki-Tikki-Tavi from Rudyard Kipling's «The Jungle Book», who protects a family from cobras. In science lessons, mongooses are quick and have some resistance to snake venom. Meerkats are a kind of mongoose. When people brought mongooses to islands like Hawaii to kill rats, they also killed native birds — a lesson about invasive species. Phrases: «a band of mongooses».

### examples

- The mongoose darted at the cobra and won the fight. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x1)
- Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is a brave mongoose in Kipling's story. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x2)
- Meerkats belong to the mongoose family. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x3)
- Mongooses brought to Hawaii ate the eggs of rare birds. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x4)
- A mongoose is quick enough to dodge a snake's strike. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x5)
- A group of mongooses is called a band. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x6)
- Our mongoose is killing a snake.” And Rikki-tikki heard a scream from Teddy’s mother. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x7)

### note

Plural «mongooses» (not «mongeese»): the word has nothing to do with «goose»; it comes from an Indian language (Marathi «mungūs»).

### In the corpora

- [Meerkats are a kind of mongoose, not a kind of rat or squirrel.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/125-timon-and-pumbaa-real-meerkats-and-warthogs/7/)
- [Banded mongooses pick ticks off warthogs lying down; a friendship where both sides gain is called mutualism.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/125-timon-and-pumbaa-real-meerkats-and-warthogs/14/)
- [Hyenas look like dogs but are more closely related to cats and mongooses; the aardwolf is a small hyena that eats mostly termites.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/126-the-lion-king-hyenas-rafiki-and-zazu/9/)
- [In Kenya, hornbills and dwarf mongooses team up: the birds catch insects the mongooses disturb and call out warnings of hawks.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/126-the-lion-king-hyenas-rafiki-and-zazu/15/)
- [Mongoose comes from Marathi, a language of India, so its plural is mongooses.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/10-plurals-mice-sheep-and-geese/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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