molt
verb (used without object)
(of birds, insects, reptiles, etc.) to cast or shed the feathers, skin, or the like, that will be replaced by a new growth.
were molting
-
past progressiveof molt.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
One week, there were no eggs because, she was told, the chickens were molting.
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2022
Unseen by the runners, three emperor penguins were molting on the ice 100 feet from the course, oblivious to the race.
From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2011
Two of these were in dark, fresh pelage, but one captured on 24 June and another on 28 July were molting.
From Noteworthy Records of Bats From Nicaragua, with a Checklist of the Chiropteran Fauna of the Country by J. Knox Jones
Even so, the season was late at the time when we were on the island and most of the birds were molting; it is possible their gonads had been enlarged earlier in the season.
From Vertebrates from the Barrier Island of Tamaulipas, M?xico by Richard F. Johnston
Twenty-five per cent of them were longer and heavier than the mean length and weight of those that were molting.
From A Population Study of the Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster) in Northeastern Kansas by Edwin P. Martin
