Meaning & use
macropod
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountabletechnicalbiology
A plant-eating marsupial mammal with long hind legs for jumping, including kangaroos, wallabies, and their relatives.
Grammar: Countable: use a/an or the plural macropods. It is the general scientific name for the whole group.
Patterns
- a macropod
- macropods
- a species of macropod
The kangaroo is the largest macropod in Australia.
Researchers tagged several macropods to track their movement across the reserve.
Wallabies are small macropods that live in forests and rocky areas.
Word forms
| plural | macropods |
|---|
Common combinations
- a species of macropod
- The red-legged pademelon is a species of macropod found in Queensland.
- macropod habitat
- Land clearing has reduced macropod habitat in many regions.
- native macropod
- The eastern gray kangaroo is a native macropod of Australia.
- macropod population
- The macropod population increased after the rains.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- macropodine adjective
- Relating to or resembling a macropod.
Commonly confused: macropod or megapod?
macropod vs megapod
A megapod is a bird that builds large mounds for its eggs, not a jumping marsupial.
Practice
Which animal is a macropod?
Choose one answer.
Kangaroos belong to the macropod family, which includes wallabies and their relatives. Koalas, wombats, and possums are marsupials but not macropods.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “macropod”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.