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# proboscis

«proboscis» in Mova's school dictionary: **a long, bendy nose or snout, like an elephant's trunk or…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a proboscis, proboscises)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A proboscis is a long, bendy nose or snout, like an elephant's trunk or a tapir's snout. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proboscis/#m1)

2) A proboscis is also the long, tube-like mouthpart of some insects, like butterflies and mosquitoes, used for sucking up food. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proboscis/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons on adaptation, a butterfly uncoils its proboscis like a straw to drink nectar, then rolls it up; a mosquito uses its proboscis to pierce skin and drink blood. The proboscis monkey of Borneo has a huge, dangly nose. In stories, «proboscis» is a funny, grand word for a big nose. Phrases: «a butterfly's proboscis», «proboscis monkey».

### examples

- The butterfly uncurled its proboscis to drink nectar. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proboscis/#x1)
- A mosquito bites with its proboscis. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proboscis/#x2)
- An elephant's trunk is a kind of proboscis. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proboscis/#x3)
- The proboscis monkey has an enormous nose. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proboscis/#x4)
- A moth's proboscis can be longer than its body. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proboscis/#x5)
- The bee pushed its proboscis deep into the flower. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proboscis/#x6)

### note

Say it "pro-BOSS-iss" (the c is silent). Plural: «proboscises» (also «proboscides» in science). A tricky spelling: -scis.

### In the corpora

- [Butterflies have taste sensors on their feet and drink through a long tube called a proboscis that stays rolled up like a party blower.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/37-butterflies-beetles-flies-mosquitoes-grasshoppers/6/)
- [Male proboscis monkeys have long dangling noses that make their calls louder, and proboscis monkeys swim well with partly webbed feet.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/161-borneo-orangutans-proboscis-monkeys-and-the-biggest-flower/5/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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