possum

American  

[pos-uhm] / ˈpɒs əm /

noun

• possums
  plural

1. opossum.

2. Australian. any of various phalangers, especially of the genus Trichosurus.

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idioms

1. play possum,

   1. to feign sleep or death.

   2. to dissemble or pretend ignorance.

      The baseball broke the window, but the children played possum when asked who had thrown it.

possum British  

/ ˈpɒsəm /

noun

1. an informal name for opossum

2. Also called: phalanger. any of various Australasian arboreal marsupials, such as Trichosurus vulpecula ( brush-tailed phalanger ), having dense fur and a long tail: family Phalangeridae

3. to pretend to be dead, ignorant, asleep, etc, in order to deceive an opponent

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possum More Idioms  

1. see play possum.

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Usage

Plural word for possum The plural form of possum is possums. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -um are also formed in this way, including museum/museums and drum/drums. Possum is pluralized in the regular, or standard, way of adding an -s to the end of the word. In some nouns that end in -um that are derived from Latin, the irregular plural ending -a may be used instead, as in memorandum/memoranda and curriculum/curricula. These nouns are considered irregular nouns. However, the -a ending isn’t valid for possum, because the word derives from the Virginia Algonquian term (with English spelling) opussum. Possa would be an invalid plural for possum.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• possums
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of possum

1605–15, short for opossum

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Explanation

A possum is a cat-sized nocturnal animal that's known for acting like it's dead when threatened. If you find a white animal with black eyes and ears in your garbage at night, it's probably a possum. The word possum is an informal, regional variation on opossum that's only used in North America. It's especially common in the phrase "playing possum," which refers to the possum's involuntary reaction to fear or harm, falling into a death-like faint, and also to a person who pretends to be innocent. So you might accuse your younger brother, as he shrugs when you ask who ate the last brownie, of playing possum.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

possum possums

Bigger trees are also more likely to form hollows – a critical and declining habitat for rare species such as the greater glider and Leadbeater’s possum.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026

Bogong moths are thought to help plants spread pollen and are also a key food source for the mountain pygmy possum, a critically endangered cave-dwelling marsupial.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Videos of stadium workers capturing a possum in one fan section and spraying gnats on the field during the last few weeks haven’t helped the team’s image.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2026

Found among the stuffed animals at one airport gift shop – an actual living possum.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 19, 2026

I checked my closet, just in case there was a giant invisible possum or gopher or something lurking there.

From "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate

The remains came from both native and introduced animals, including cows, kangaroos, emus, sheep, pigs, dingoes, rabbits, possums, quolls and swamp rats.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

The work represents the first direct estimate of a mutation rate for koalas or for any member of the marsupial order Diprotodontia, which also includes wombats, kangaroos and possums.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

In June, Mumbai customs intercepted two passengers arriving from Thailand with dozens of venomous vipers and more than 100 other creatures, including lizards, sunbirds and tree-climbing possums, also arriving from Thailand.

From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2025

He figures in about 35 square miles, there are just a few individual possums left.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2024

European settlers, such as those that I encounter in New Guinea with pet kangaroos and possums, have tamed or made pets of many local mammals, just as have indigenous peoples.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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