chinchilla

Everyday

1. A small rodent from the Andes mountains of South America, with very soft, thick grey fur and a bushy tail. tree →
2. The fur of this animal. tree →

In the lessons

In nature lessons chinchillas are animals of the cold, high Andes; their fur is extremely thick to keep them warm. Some families keep them as pets; they clean their fur by rolling in dust, not by taking a bath. Phrases: «a pet chinchilla», «dust bath».

Examples

• A chinchilla has the softest fur of any land animal. tree →
• Our pet chinchilla rolls in special dust to keep clean. tree →
• Chinchillas come from the Andes mountains. tree →
• Chinchillas must not get wet, because their fur takes too long to dry. tree →
• Wild chinchillas are now rare because they were hunted for fur. tree →
• The chinchilla nibbled a bit of hay. tree →

Note

Countable. Spelled with «ch» twice and «ll»; say chin-CHIL-uh. Not a hamster or a rabbit, though it looks a bit like both.