Illustration of opossum
- opossum 1
plural opossums also opossum
1
: any of a family (Didelphidae) of small- to medium-sized American marsupials that usually have a pointed snout and nearly hairless scaly prehensile tail, are typically active at night, and are sometimes hunted for their fur or meat
especially
: a common omnivorous largely nocturnal mammal (Didelphis virginiana) of North and Central America that is a skilled climber, that typically has a white face and grayish body and in the female a well-developed fur-lined pouch, and that when threatened may feign death by curling up the body and remaining motionless and unresponsive
2
Examples of opossum in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Their camera trap caught raccoons, birds, rabbits and opossums on video, but none actually eating the plant.
—
Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 10 July 2024
The all-star voice cast also includes Pedro Pascal as fox Fink, Catherine O’Hara as opossum Pinktail, Bill Nighy as goose Longneck, Kit Connor as gosling Brightbill, and Stephanie Hsu as robot Vontra, plus Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, and Mark Hamill.
—Rafael Motamayor, IndieWire, 16 June 2024
The Most Controversial Comic Strip In the 1950s, Walt Kelly's comic strip about a cute opossum named Pogo was syndicated by over 450 newspapers.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
The large snakes have put a huge dent in regional populations of raccoons, opossums, and bobcats in the Everglades, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report.
—Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 12 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for opossum 
Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 10 July 2024
The all-star voice cast also includes Pedro Pascal as fox Fink, Catherine O’Hara as opossum Pinktail, Bill Nighy as goose Longneck, Kit Connor as gosling Brightbill, and Stephanie Hsu as robot Vontra, plus Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, and Mark Hamill.
—Rafael Motamayor, IndieWire, 16 June 2024
The Most Controversial Comic Strip In the 1950s, Walt Kelly's comic strip about a cute opossum named Pogo was syndicated by over 450 newspapers.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
The large snakes have put a huge dent in regional populations of raccoons, opossums, and bobcats in the Everglades, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report.
—Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 12 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for opossum
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'opossum.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near opossum
Cite this Entry
“Opossum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/opossum. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
opossum
noun
opos·sum
(ə-)ˈpäs-əm 
plural opossums also opossum
: a common marsupial mammal mostly of the eastern U.S. that usually is active at night, has a tail that can wrap around and grasp objects (as tree branches), and is an expert climber
Etymology
from apossoun, opassom, a word in an Algonquian language of Virginia meaning, literally, "white dog"
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share