Exuviate

//ɛkˈsuː.vɪ.eɪt// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To shed or cast off a covering, especially a skin; to slough; to molt (moult). ambitransitive, rare

    "Like any arthropod encased in a rigid exoskeleton, a trilobite must periodically moult, or exuviate, in order to grow."

  2. 2
    cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
moltmoultsloughcastdregsmoult

Example

More examples

"Like any arthropod encased in a rigid exoskeleton, a trilobite must periodically moult, or exuviate, in order to grow."

Etymology

From Latin exuviae (“what is shed”), from exuō (“cast off, strip”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.