moult
verb/məʊlt/
/məʊlt/
(US English molt)
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they moult | /məʊlt/ /məʊlt/ |
| he / she / it moults | /məʊlts/ /məʊlts/ |
| past simple moulted | /ˈməʊltɪd/ /ˈməʊltɪd/ |
| past participle moulted | /ˈməʊltɪd/ /ˈməʊltɪd/ |
| -ing form moulting | /ˈməʊltɪŋ/ /ˈməʊltɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] (of a bird or an animal) to lose feathers or hair before new feathers or hair grow
换羽；蜕毛 - The adult birds were already moulting.
成年鸟已经换羽了。 - moult something The female hornbill moults her beautiful feathers.
雌性犀鸟正在换掉美丽的羽毛。
- The adult birds were already moulting.
- [intransitive] (of feathers or hair) to fall out before new feathers or hair grow
褪去；蜕掉 - The last of his juvenile plumage had moulted.
他最后的雏鸟羽毛已蜕去了。
- The last of his juvenile plumage had moulted.
Word OriginMiddle English moute, from an Old English verb based on Latin mutare ‘to change’. For the intrusive -l-, compare with words such as fault.