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# opossum

«opossum» in Mova's school dictionary: **a North and South American marsupial about the size of a…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (an opossum, opossums); informal: possum

### meaning for a pupil

1) An opossum is a North and South American marsupial about the size of a cat, with a pointed white face, bare ears and a long, bare tail that can grip branches. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opossum/#m1)

2) In Australia and New Zealand, «possum» is a different marsupial: a furry tree animal like the brushtail possum. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opossum/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons opossums are the only marsupials (mammals with a pouch) in North America; babies, born tiny, grow in the mother's pouch and later ride on her back. When scared, an opossum may «play dead» — it falls over, lies still and smells bad — the origin of the phrase «playing possum». In New Zealand, introduced Australian possums are pests that damage forests and birds. Phrases: «play possum», «Virginia opossum».

### examples

- The opossum hung from the branch by its tail. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opossum/#x1)
- A mother opossum carried her babies on her back. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opossum/#x2)
- The opossum played dead when the dog sniffed it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opossum/#x3)
- «Playing possum» means pretending to be asleep or dead. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opossum/#x4)
- Opossums are the only marsupials in North America. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opossum/#x5)
- In Australia, a brushtail possum lived in our roof! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/opossum/#x6)

### note

Plural «opossums». Use «an»: «an opossum». In North America people often drop the o and say «possum». Trap: American opossums and Australian possums are different animals, though both are marsupials. Myth: opossums don't hang by their tails to sleep.

### In the corpora

- [And the Australian possum living in a roof is a different animal from the American opossum, though both carry their babies in pouches.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/224-raccoons-opossums-and-skunks/4/)
- [Opossums are marsupials: the tiny babies grow in their mother's pouch and later ride on her back.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/224-raccoons-opossums-and-skunks/11/)
- [The Virginia opossum has fifty teeth, more than any other North American land mammal, and eats almost anything.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/224-raccoons-opossums-and-skunks/12/)
- [A raccoon, an opossum and a skunk each have four legs, one tail and a coat of fur.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/224-raccoons-opossums-and-skunks/16/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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