Definition

1. Verb:

   • To shed or cast off hair, feathers, skin, horns, or an outer layer periodically, as part of a natural growth cycle. This process allows for the replacement of old material with new.
   • To undergo the process of shedding this outer covering.

2. Noun:

   • The process or period of shedding hair, feathers, skin, or horns. It refers to the event or the time during which an animal loses its old outer covering.

Examples of Usage

• Verb:
  • Snakes moult their skin several times a year.
  • The bird is moulting, so it looks a bit scruffy.
• Noun:
  • The crab is going through a moult.
  • During the moult, the animal may hide more often.

Advanced Usage

• "to be in moult": to be in the process of shedding.
  • The eagle is in moult and cannot fly as efficiently.
• The term is often used in zoological and biological contexts to describe a specific, cyclical biological process.

Variants and Related Words

• Molt: The standard American English spelling of 'moult'. Both words have identical meanings.
  • American cicadas molt their exoskeletons.
• Moulting/Molting (adj/n): Used to describe the state or process.
  • The moulting season for deer is in the spring.
• Ecdysis: (n) A more technical, scientific synonym for the process of moulting, especially in arthropods and reptiles.

Synonyms

• Shed: The most common general synonym.
  • Dogs shed their fur.
• Slough: Often used for snakes or for shedding skin, sometimes implying the cast-off layer itself.
  • The snake sloughed its skin.
• Cast off: A phrasal verb with a similar meaning.
  • The lobster casts off its old shell.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Phrases

• Moult out: To complete the process of moulting.
  • Once the penguin has moulted out, its new feathers are waterproof.

Related Idioms

• While there are no common idioms using "moult" specifically, the concept is metaphorically related to renewal and transformation.
  • He emerged from his period of study like a bird after moult—renewed and ready. (This is an illustrative example, not a fixed idiom).

Noun

1. periodic shedding of the cuticle in arthropods or the outer skin in reptiles

Verb

1. cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers
   • our dog sheds every Spring