[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/millipede/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [M](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/m/) / millipede

# millipede

noun (a millipede, millipedes)

«millipede» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

A millipede is a small creature with a long body made of many segments, with two pairs of legs on most segments, that lives in damp soil and leaf litter and eats dead plants. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/millipede/#m1)

### In the lessons

In science lessons on minibeasts and habitats, millipedes are found under logs and stones; they are decomposers that break down dead leaves into soil. When frightened they curl into a spiral and may give off a smelly liquid. They are not insects. Phrases: a millipede curled up, minibeast hunt.

### Examples

- We found a millipede under the old log. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/millipede/#x1)
- The millipede curled up into a tight spiral. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/millipede/#x2)
- Millipedes eat rotting leaves and help make soil. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/millipede/#x3)
- A millipede moves its legs in waves. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/millipede/#x4)
- Millipedes like dark, damp places. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/millipede/#x5)
- Despite its name, a millipede does not have a thousand legs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/millipede/#x6)
- We counted the millipede's legs with a magnifying glass. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/millipede/#x7)
- A millipede is slower than a centipede. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/millipede/#x8)

### Note

Countable: a millipede, millipedes. «Milli-» means thousand and «-pede» means feet, but most millipedes have far fewer than a thousand legs (often under 400; one rare kind has over 1,000). Do not confuse with a centipede: centipedes have one pair of legs per segment, move fast, hunt other animals and can bite; millipedes have two pairs per segment, are slow and eat plants. Neither is an insect (insects have six legs).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «millipede» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/millipede/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«millipede» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/millipede.html) on Mova free.