Meaning & use
proboscis
Last updated
A long, flexible snout or trunk, or the elongated mouthpart of certain insects used for feeding.
See it in a sentence
The elephant used its proboscis to pull leaves from the highest branches.
A butterfly's proboscis uncoils like a straw to sip nectar from flowers.
A note on using this word
Used mainly in biology and zoology; applying it to a human nose is a humorous or literary exaggeration.
Words with a similar meaning
snouttrunk
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