Meaning & use
cocoon
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Meanings
nouncountable
A silky case that an insect larva, especially a moth, spins around itself before becoming an adult.
Grammar: Countable: a cocoon, two cocoons. Often used with verbs like spin, make, or form.
Patterns
- spin a cocoon
- form a cocoon
- a moth's cocoon
The caterpillar spun a thick cocoon around itself and hung from the branch.
Inside the cocoon, the larva slowly changes into an adult moth.
We found an empty cocoon on the leaf after the moth had emerged.
verbtransitive
To wrap or shelter someone or something protectively, often separating them from the outside world.
Grammar: Takes an object: cocoon someone or something. Often used in the passive: be cocooned in something.
Patterns
- cocoon someone in something
- be cocooned from something
- cocoon oneself away
She cocooned the baby in soft blankets to keep him warm.
The small town is cocooned by mountains, so it feels cut off from the rest of the country.
He cocooned himself in his room and refused to talk to anyone for days.
Word forms
| plural | cocoons |
|---|---|
| third person singular | cocoons |
| past tense | cocooned |
| past participle | cocooned |
| -ing form | cocooning |
Common combinations
- spin a cocoon
- The silkworm spins a cocoon made of one long silk thread.
- form a cocoon
- The larva forms a cocoon before it turns into a pupa.
- silk cocoon
- Farmers collect the silk cocoons and unwind the threads.
- cocooned in blankets
- The child sat cocooned in blankets by the fire.
- cocoon of safety
- The school became a cocoon of safety for the students.
Synonyms and how they differ
- chrysalis
- A chrysalis is the hard outer case of a butterfly pupa and is not made of spun silk, so it is not the same as a moth's cocoon.
- case
- A case is a general covering, while a cocoon specifically means the silk covering made by an insect larva.
- pupa
- A pupa is the insect itself in its inactive stage, not the protective covering around it.
Word family
Commonly confused: cocoon or chrysalis?
cocoon vs chrysalis
A chrysalis is the hardened skin of a butterfly pupa, while a cocoon is a silk case spun by a moth larva. Butterflies usually do not make silk cocoons.
Practice
The caterpillar ______ a cocoon around itself before it became a moth.
Choose one answer.
“Spun” is the natural verb for making a cocoon from silk threads. “Made” and “formed” are possible but less precise; “built” sounds like construction with hard materials, not silk.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cocoon”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.