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# parasitism

«parasitism» in Mova's school dictionary: **A way of living in which one living thing (the parasite)…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (parasitism — uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

(science) A way of living in which one living thing (the parasite) lives on or inside another (the host) and takes food from it, harming it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parasitism/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons about food chains and relationships: fleas, ticks, tapeworms and mistletoe show parasitism. Compare mutualism (both gain) and commensalism (one gains, the other is not harmed). The cuckoo laying eggs in other birds' nests is called brood parasitism.

### examples

- Fleas on a dog are an example of parasitism. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parasitism/#x1)
- We learned about parasitism in science. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parasitism/#x2)
- The cuckoo's tricks are a kind of parasitism. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parasitism/#x3)
- Mistletoe lives by parasitism on trees. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parasitism/#x4)
- Parasitism harms the host. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parasitism/#x5)
- Ticks live by parasitism and can spread disease. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parasitism/#x6)

### note

Uncountable. Parasite (the creature), parasitic (adjective), parasitism (the way of life). Say «PA-ra-sigh-tizm».

### Trees and pragmatics

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