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.

As we’ll see, and as is obvious if you look at the proboscides of extant mammals, there’s a lot more to having a trunk that having large, dorsally located nostrils.

From Scientific American • Nov. 20, 2012

Mammals with proboscides or inferred proboscides – I’m thinking tapirs, pyrotheres, astrapotheres, the stem-whale Makaracetus, some amynodontid rhinos, some oreodonts, Macrauchenia, dik-diks, saigas, desmans, sengis and so on – have narrow snouts.

From Scientific American • Nov. 20, 2012

Again, this seems incompatible with the presence of a trunk, as if sauropods had proboscides, wouldn’t they be grabbing foliage with the trunk tip, and then passing it into the mouth, over the teeth?

From Scientific American • Nov. 20, 2012

Naturally there will be mercantile proboscides dipping here and there, gleaning a little honey for the sweetening of the pots.

From Time Magazine Archive

Swarms of mosquitoes attacked us at night and with their hypodermic proboscides injected poisonous malaria in our veins, to avoid which the sleeping soldier covered his head with a blanket.

From Reminiscences of a Rebel by Dunaway, Wayland Fuller