furred

Everyday

1. Covered with fur, or with a coat of soft hair: a furred animal. tree →
2. Lined or trimmed with fur, like a furred hood. tree →
3. (UK) Coated with a crusty layer, like a kettle furred with limescale or pipes furred up inside. tree →
4. (of a tongue) Covered with a whitish coating when you are ill. tree →

In the lessons

In science, «furred» animals are mammals with fur that keeps them warm. In everyday British life a kettle «gets furred up» in hard-water areas because of limescale. In stories it describes animals, coats and cosy clothes. Phrases: furred up, a thick-furred coat, a furred tongue.

Examples

• The fox is a furred animal with a bushy tail. tree →
• Her parka has a furred hood for the cold. tree →
• Our kettle is furred up with limescale. tree →
• Arctic hares are thickly furred to survive the winter. tree →
• The old pipes had furred inside and the water ran slowly. tree →
• When I had flu, my tongue felt furred. tree →
• Polar bears are furred even on the soles of their feet. tree →
• Mammals are furred, but birds are feathered. tree →
• These were a grey-furred, long-tailed tanuki, his wife the fox, who was one of his own family, and their little son. tree →

Note

Spelling: double r before -ed (fur → furred, furring). Pronounced like «furd». Not the same as «fared» (got on) or «feared». «Furry» is the more common everyday adjective: a furry kitten.