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Showing results for "moult"
  • a variation of molt.

moult

British  
/ məʊlt /

verb

  1. (of birds, mammals, reptiles, and arthropods) to shed (feathers, hair, skin, or cuticle)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the periodic process of moulting See also ecdysis

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of moult

C14 mouten, from Old English mūtian, as in bimūtian to exchange for, from Latin mūtāre to change


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:

"Full-sized adult crabs moult once or twice a year, but when juveniles are growing fast they moult every few weeks."

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2022

Sea ice is also important for resting, during their annual moult and to escape from predators.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2021

Thus, it makes sense that we moult depending on the temperature: hold onto our hair more tightly during the winter months and lose it in the summer.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 20, 2016

Heeled boots, studded with glitter, have begun to moult in the autumn damp; wherever Adele settles around the room she leaves behind traces of sparkle.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 15, 2015

No larger than a raven, it was young and barely out of its first moult; the head seemed a little too big for its body, the feathers thin and quilly.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

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