opossum
Americannoun
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a prehensile-tailed marsupial, Didelphis virginiana, of the eastern U.S., the female having an abdominal pouch in which its young are carried: noted for the habit of feigning death when in danger.
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any of various animals of related genera.
noun
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Sometimes (informal) shortened to: possum. any thick-furred marsupial, esp Didelphis marsupialis ( common opossum ), of the family Didelphidae of S North, Central, and South America, having an elongated snout and a hairless prehensile tail
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Also called (Austral and NZ): possum. any of various similar animals, esp the phalanger, Trichosurus vulpecula, of the New Zealand bush
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of opossum
First recorded in 1600–10, from Virginia Algonquian ( English spelling) opassom, opussum, aposoum (equivalent to Proto-Algonquian (unattested) wa˙p- “white” + (unattested) -aʔθemw- “dog”)
Explanation
An opossum is a small, nocturnal animal famous for its ability to play dead when threatened by predators. Opossums are marsupials, which means mothers carry their babies in a pouch. Opossums are also called possums, and the colloquial phrase used when they play dead is "playing possum." These omnivorous, cat-sized mammals often get a bad rap, thought of as dirty, hissing creatures that lurk around your garbage cans at night. In reality, opossums are very clean and highly social. They also perform the important task of fighting Lyme disease: one opossum can eat as many as 5,000 ticks each year.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The second season, which premieres Tuesday, is called “Lost in the Jungle,” and it follows the journeys of an opossum, an iguana and a jumping spider in the Central American rainforest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2025
Today, there are only three survivors: the nine-banded armadillo, the Virginia opossum and the North American porcupine.
From Science Daily ● May 28, 2024
The demolished deer, the obliterated opossum, the wrecked raccoon: This is the detritus of our human-dominated age.
From Slate ● May 25, 2024
In the end, though, it was just a "giant opossum that was under the house", she testified.
From BBC ● May 9, 2024
“It’s true, death scenes are my specialty,” said the opossum.
From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown
In areas were the disease is prevalent, you are most at risk of getting typhus from infected fleas if you touch, pet or come into contact with rats, opossums and stray cats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025
A national pest control company will provide opossums, rats, raccoons, and skunks from 10 cities.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 29, 2024
They have eclipsed the alligator as apex predator and are disrupting fragile ecosystems like the iconic Everglades National Park by preying on native species like bobcats, racoons and opossums.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 29, 2024
Motion-activated sprinklers may deter the opossums and raccoons, but the rats and mice are too small to set them off.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2023
This food was an invitation to the squirrels, foxes, raccoons, opossums, even the birds that lived around me to come have a party.
From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
