noun / verb
cocoon
kuh-KOON/kəˈkuːn/
A protective enclosure, especially one spun by an insect.
The caterpillar spins a silk cocoon around its body.
Etymology
The shell image connects the cocoon with an enclosing outer case: the larva's silk forms a protective covering, much as a shell encloses an egg or nut.
In context
She spins silk. Quite the craftsman, she weaves it into a perfect cocoon, building herself inside it.
More examples
- A thick blanket forms a warm cocoon around the baby.
- She cocoons the fragile vase in layers of tissue paper.
- We watched a moth emerge from its cocoon.
Forms
cocoon · cocoons · cocooned · cocooning