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# mongoose

noun (a mongoose, mongooses)

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

## Everyday

A mongoose is a small, fast, furry animal with a long body and tail, from Africa and Asia, famous for fighting and killing snakes, including cobras. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#m1)

### In the lessons

In stories, the most famous mongoose is Rikki-Tikki-Tavi from Rudyard Kipling's «The Jungle Book», who protects a family from cobras. In science lessons, mongooses are quick and have some resistance to snake venom. Meerkats are a kind of mongoose. When people brought mongooses to islands like Hawaii to kill rats, they also killed native birds — a lesson about invasive species. Phrases: «a band of mongooses».

### Examples

- The mongoose darted at the cobra and won the fight. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x1)
- Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is a brave mongoose in Kipling's story. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x2)
- Meerkats belong to the mongoose family. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x3)
- Mongooses brought to Hawaii ate the eggs of rare birds. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x4)
- A mongoose is quick enough to dodge a snake's strike. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x5)
- A group of mongooses is called a band. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x6)
- Our mongoose is killing a snake.” And Rikki-tikki heard a scream from Teddy’s mother. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mongoose/#x7)

### Note

Plural «mongooses» (not «mongeese»): the word has nothing to do with «goose»; it comes from an Indian language (Marathi «mungūs»).

## On Mova

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