Meaning & use
unau
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Meaning
nouncountablebiologytechnical
A slow-moving, tree-living mammal of Central and South American forests that has two long claws on each front foot; a two-toed sloth.
Grammar: A scientific name used for a specific kind of sloth; everyday speakers say two-toed sloth.
Patterns
- an unau in the canopy
The unau spends most of its life hanging upside down in the trees.
We spotted a sleeping unau high in the canopy.
The zoo's new unau eats leaves, fruit and flowers.
Word forms
| plural | unaus |
|---|
Common combinations
- a sleeping unau
- A sleeping unau hung from the branch.
- unau and ai
- Visitors learn the difference between the unau and the ai.
- a young unau
- A young unau clung to its mother's fur.
- the unau's claws
- The unau's claws are perfect for hanging from branches.
Synonyms and how they differ
- two-toed sloth
- Two-toed sloth is the standard, descriptive name; unau is a rarer name used in zoology.
- sloth
- Sloth is the general word that also covers the three-toed kind, while unau is only the two-toed one.
Commonly confused: unau or ai? unau or sloth?
unau vs ai
The ai is the three-toed sloth, whereas the unau has two toes on its front feet.
unau vs sloth
Sloth names the whole animal group, including the unau and the ai.
Practice
An unau is best described as ___.
Choose one answer.
An unau is a two-toed sloth. The three-toed sloth is called the ai, so that option is the tempting wrong answer.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unau”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.