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

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [W](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/w/) / woodlouse

# woodlouse

noun (a woodlouse, woodlice)

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

## Everyday

1. A woodlouse is a small grey animal with a hard, jointed shell and fourteen legs that lives in damp, dark places like under stones, logs and leaves. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/woodlouse/#m1)
2. Some kinds can roll up into a ball when in danger (pill bugs). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/woodlouse/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science woodlice appear in minibeast hunts, habitats and «choice chamber» experiments, which show that they prefer damp and dark places. They are decomposers: they eat dead leaves and wood and help recycle nutrients. They are crustaceans, related to crabs, not insects. Phrases: «minibeast», «pill bug», «roly-poly» (US), «slater» (Australia, NZ, Scotland).

### Examples

- We found woodlice under the log. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/woodlouse/#x1)
- A woodlouse rolled into a ball when I touched it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/woodlouse/#x2)
- Woodlice like damp, dark places. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/woodlouse/#x3)
- In our experiment, most woodlice moved to the wet side. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/woodlouse/#x4)
- Woodlice eat rotting leaves and wood. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/woodlouse/#x5)
- A woodlouse has fourteen legs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/woodlouse/#x6)
- Put the woodlice back where you found them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/woodlouse/#x7)
- In Australia, a woodlouse is called a slater. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/woodlouse/#x8)

### Note

Irregular plural: «woodlice» (like «louse, lice»). It is not an insect (insects have 6 legs); it is a crustacean. Many regional names: pill bug, roly-poly, slater, sow bug.

## On Mova

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