Possum

//ˈpɒsəm// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An opossum, a marsupial of the family Didelphidae of the Americas. US
  2. 2
    nocturnal arboreal marsupial having a naked prehensile tail found from southern North America to northern South America wordnet
  3. 3
    Any of the marsupials in several families of the order Diprotodontia of Australia and neighboring islands.
  4. 4
    small furry Australian arboreal marsupials having long usually prehensile tails wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To play possum; to feign sleep, illness, or death. intransitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
opossumanimalantelopeapearmadillobar

Example

More examples

"They ate possum roadkill for dinner."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Algonquian *wa·p- Proto-Algonquian *aθemwa Proto-Algonquian *wa·p-aʔθemwa Powhatan aposoumbor. English opossumder. English possum Derived from opossum by apheresis.

Related phrases

Fergusson Island striped possumLeadbeater's possumPossum BrushPossum CreekVirginia possumact possumbrush-tailed possumbrushtail possumcommon possumcommon ringtail possumfairy possumfeather-tailed possum

More for "possum"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

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