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# moss

«moss» in Mova's school dictionary: **A small, soft, green plant without flowers that grows in…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (moss — uncountable; mosses for kinds)

### meaning for a pupil

A small, soft, green plant without flowers that grows in thick, low patches on damp ground, rocks, trees and walls. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/moss/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In science, mosses are simple plants: they have no flowers, seeds or proper roots, and they make spores to reproduce. They need damp, shady places and soak up water like a sponge, which helps prevent floods and keeps soil from washing away. Moss often grows on the shady side of trees and rocks; in the Northern Hemisphere that is often the north side, but this is not a safe way to find your way. In safety, moss on rocks and steps is very slippery. Phrases: "covered in moss", "moss-covered", "a rolling stone gathers no moss".

### examples

- The old wall was covered in green moss. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/moss/#x1)
- Moss feels soft and spongy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/moss/#x2)
- Mosses grow in damp, shady places. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/moss/#x3)
- Be careful — moss on the rocks is slippery. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/moss/#x4)
- Moss makes spores instead of seeds. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/moss/#x5)
- Birds use moss to line their nests. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/moss/#x6)
- We found moss growing between the paving stones. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/moss/#x7)
- A rolling stone gathers no moss. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/moss/#x8)
- Not a single glow-worm glittered in the moss. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/moss/#x9)

### note

Uncountable: "some moss", "a patch of moss"; "mosses" means different kinds. Spelling: double s. Myth: "moss only grows on the north side of trees" is not reliable for finding directions. Reindeer moss is actually a lichen, not a moss.

### In the corpora

- [Picture a town where nobody has walked for 40 years: birches grow through flats, moss covers the roads.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/376-the-chornobyl-zone-how-wild-animals-came-back-and-what-is-still-argued/1/)
- [Moss can grow on any damp, shady side of a tree, so it is not a reliable way to find north.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/16-landmarks/17/)
- [Moss does not grow only on the north side of trees, so it is not a reliable guide.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/49-map-puzzles/12/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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