possum

Pluralpossums

Formspossums, possuming, possumed

1. 1
   American animalnounUScountable

   Another name for the opossum, any of the American marsupials of the family Didelphidae.

   A possum was raiding the trash cans behind our garage in Ohio every night.

   Driving home through rural Tennessee, we slowed for a possum crossing the road with babies clinging to its back.

   Similaropossum

   Note

   Americans made the everyday name by dropping the first syllable of opossum. The trap comes with travel: in Australia the same word names a quite different group of marsupials, so an American possum and an Australian one are not the same animal, and a reader has to know which side of the Pacific a story comes from. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • The shortened form possum originated in American English. gutenberg.org
   • Possum was formed from opossum by removing its initial syllable. en.wiktionary.org
   • Australian possums belong to a different group of marsupials from American opossums. en.wikipedia.org
2. 2
   Australian animalnouncountable

   A marsupial belonging to one of several families in the order Diprotodontia, native to Australia and nearby islands.

   In Australia, a possum had moved into the attic and kept the family awake at night.

   On a night walk in a Sydney park, we spotted two possums feeding high in a gum tree.

3. 3
   play deadverbintransitive

   To pretend to be asleep, ill, or dead; to play possum.

   UsagePeople usually say play possum. The separate verb possum has the forms possumed and possuming, keeping a single m.

   Note

   The verb does the work of the idiom play possum in one word, and it keeps the idiom's sense of lying low on purpose. The idiom comes from the Virginia opossum, which goes limp and seems dead when threatened. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • The idiom play possum originates in the Virginia opossum's death-feigning behavior. en.wikipedia.org
   • The Virginia opossum appears dead when threatened. en.wikipedia.org
   • The Virginia opossum lies limp during this response. en.wikipedia.org
4. 4
   nouncolloquialAustraliacountableaustralian

   An affectionate form of address for someone such as a child, a partner, or an audience.

   Don't worry, possum, Mum will be back from the shops soon.

   The host swept onto the stage and greeted the audience with a cheery "Hello, possums!"

   Similardarling, sweetheart, love

   Note

   A warm, chiefly Australian form of address, used much as darling or sweetheart are elsewhere. It belongs to casual, affectionate speech: a parent to a child, one partner to another, or an entertainer greeting a whole crowd in the plural with "Hello, possums!" It is the same word as the marsupial, put to fond use. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • An entertainer greets an audience with "Hello, possums!"; Dame Edna used this greeting. paperzz.com
   • The affectionate form of address uses the same word as the name of the marsupial. paperzz.com

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