marsupial
adjective
mar·su·pi·al
| \ mär-ˈsü-pē-əl
\
\
Definition of marsupial
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: of, relating to, or being a marsupial
2
: of, relating to, or forming a marsupium
marsupial
nounDefinition of marsupial (Entry 2 of 2)
: any of an order (Marsupialia) of mammals comprising kangaroos, wombats, bandicoots, opossums, and related animals that do not develop a true placenta and that usually have a pouch on the abdomen of the female which covers the teats and serves to carry the young
Examples of marsupial in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
These marsupial herbivores diverged from kangaroos and wallabies 15 million years ago. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Ancient kangaroo had a koala-like face and jaws of steel," 11 Sep. 2019 In archival drawers were convict leg irons from the early 1800s, jars of antique marsupial specimens, copperplate etchings of native plants made by naturalists on Capt. — David Maurice Smith, Smithsonian, "A 42,000-Year-Old Man Finally Goes Home," 23 Aug. 2019 These marsupial males have a lethal mating process. — National Geographic, "This Father’s Day, meet 6 extreme animal dads," 14 June 2019 But Australian dung beetles were used to recycling marsupial dung and could not tackle the cow chips. — Anne Sverdrup-thygeson, WSJ, "The Bugs We Can’t Live Without," 20 June 2019 According to the Florida zoo, the marsupial baby emerged from its mother’s pouch for the first time this week, offering keepers and guests their first peek at the first koala joey to be born at the zoo. — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, "Florida Zoo Koala Joey Emerges from Mother's Pouch for the First Time Looking Picture Perfect," 19 June 2019 This small marsupial synchronizes its fertility with fading light levels after the summer solstice, resulting in births six weeks afterward, and subsequent high demands on mothers when food resources are at their peak. — Babak Tafreshi, National Geographic, "Our nights are getting brighter, and Earth is paying the price," 3 Apr. 2019 And unlike any other creature in the animal kingdom, this marsupial poops cubes. — Jill Kiedaisch, Popular Mechanics, "BREAKING: Mystery of Square Wombat Poop Revealed," 20 Nov. 2018 The eastern quoll, a cat-sized marsupial with pointy ears and speckled fur, was once found throughout south-eastern Australia. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "Endangered Eastern Quolls Are Born on Mainland Australia for the First Time in 50 Years," 10 July 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The legendary explorer Alexander von Humboldt believed that they were made by a marsupial. — Hans-dieter Sues, Smithsonian, "The Long, Strange Tale of the Hand Beast Footprints," 11 Sep. 2019 There is a lot of cruelty towards North America’s only native marsupial. — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, "Clear Your Schedules: This Calendar Filled with Cuddly Opossums and Cute Guys Is All You Need," 28 June 2019 More than 12,000 of the marsupials roam the Australian island. — Justin Curto, PEOPLE.com, "How Selfies with Quokkas on Rottnest Island Are Helping the Quokka Population Bounce Back," 29 Aug. 2019 Pictures have surfaced of a baby koala wearing a wee little arm cast after the mini marsupial fell out of a tree in Melbourne, Australia. — Fox News, "Adorable orphaned baby koala gets arm cast after falling from tree," 9 Aug. 2019 Antechinuses, mouse-like marsupials found in Australia, are willing to lay down their lives to become fathers. — National Geographic, "This Father’s Day, meet 6 extreme animal dads," 14 June 2019 Soon, the marsupials that eat undesirable insects, snails and slugs were replaced with tree-climbing raccoons that dug up Coates’ flower bulbs and rinsed them in his birdbath before eating them. — Janet Eastman, oregonlive.com, "What to do about cougars in the neighborhood, skunks under the house, bats in the attic," 19 July 2019 Inside the kitchen Two refrigerators face each other inside the marsupial care building’s kitchen. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "‘Roos, geese, and a blue-tongued lizard: Behind the scenes at San Diego Zoo Safari Park," 8 June 2019 The miniature marsupials are quite prolific on the bikeable island off Perth’s coast, a half-hour ferry ride. — Kathryn Romeyn, The Hollywood Reporter, "Hollywood's Travel Guide to Western Australia," 16 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'marsupial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for marsupial
marsupial
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of marsupial
: a type of animal (such as a kangaroo or an opossum) that carries its babies in a pocket of skin on the mother's stomach
See the full definition for marsupial in the English Language Learners Dictionary
marsupial
noun
mar·su·pi·al
| \ mär-ˈsü-pē-əl
\
\
Kids Definition of marsupial
: a mammal (as a kangaroo or opossum) that does not develop a true placenta and usually has a pouch on the female's abdomen in which the young develop and are carried
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