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

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

# tardigrade

«tardigrade» in Mova's school dictionary: **a tiny, eight-legged animal, usually less than 1…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a tardigrade, tardigrades); also called water bear, moss piglet

### meaning for a pupil

A tardigrade is a tiny, eight-legged animal, usually less than 1 millimetre long, that lives in water, moss and soil and can survive extreme conditions. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tardigrade/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons tardigrades amaze pupils: you need a microscope to see them; they look like chubby little bears with claws. When their home dries out they curl into a dry «tun» and can survive freezing, boiling, crushing pressure, radiation and even outer space for a while, then come back to life when wet. They live almost everywhere, from mountaintops to the deep sea. The name means «slow walker». Phrases: «water bear», «moss piglet».

### examples

- A tardigrade is smaller than a full stop. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tardigrade/#x1)
- Tardigrades are also called water bears. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tardigrade/#x2)
- We looked for tardigrades in wet moss with a microscope. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tardigrade/#x3)
- Tardigrades survived a trip into outer space. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tardigrade/#x4)
- A dried-out tardigrade can come back to life in water. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tardigrade/#x5)
- Tardigrades have eight stubby legs with claws. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tardigrade/#x6)

### note

Plural «tardigrades». Say TAR-di-grade. Trap: they are tough, but not indestructible; they can be killed, and they are not really bears or pigs.

### In the corpora

- [Dried tardigrades survive great cold, high pressure and radiation, but they are not immortal, and active tardigrades are quite fragile.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/259-the-microscopic-world-tardigrades-mites-plankton-and-other-tiny-creatures/7/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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