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# pipistrelle

noun (a pipistrelle, pipistrelles)

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

## Everyday

1. A pipistrelle is a very small bat, the commonest kind of bat in Britain and much of Europe. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pipistrelle/#m1)
2. A pipistrelle is so small it could fit in a matchbox, and it eats thousands of tiny insects in a night. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pipistrelle/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science lessons on nocturnal animals and food chains, pupils learn that pipistrelles use echolocation (they send out squeaks and listen to the echoes) to catch midges and mosquitoes. Bats are protected by law in the UK: you must not disturb their roosts. On summer evenings children can see them flitting around streetlights. Phrases: «common pipistrelle», «soprano pipistrelle», «bat detector».

### Examples

- A pipistrelle can eat three thousand insects in one night. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pipistrelle/#x1)
- We used a bat detector to hear the pipistrelles. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pipistrelle/#x2)
- The pipistrelle flew around the streetlight catching moths. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pipistrelle/#x3)
- Pipistrelles roost in roofs and old trees. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pipistrelle/#x4)
- A pipistrelle weighs less than a pound coin. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pipistrelle/#x5)
- Bats like the pipistrelle are protected by law in Britain. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pipistrelle/#x6)

### Note

Say it "pip-i-STREL". Plural: «pipistrelles». Myth: bats are not blind, and pipistrelles do not get tangled in your hair. Bats are mammals, not birds.

## On Mova

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