How to Use proboscis in a Sentence

proboscis

noun
  • The hawk moth, with its ultra-long proboscis, will stop by for a nectar snack.
    — Paris Wolfe, cleveland, 27 Jan. 2023
  • Rob, whose ego is as bruised as his proboscis, childishly lashes out.
    — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2023
  • The assassin bug's deadly proboscis is both sword and siphon.
    — smithsonianmag.com, 2 May 2017
  • The assassin bug's deadly proboscis is both sword and siphon.
    — smithsonianmag.com, 30 Sep. 2017
  • The bees soon cut several holes in the leaves of each plant using their mandibles and proboscises.
    — Jim Daley, Scientific American, 21 May 2020
  • Its eyes are at the bottom; its antennae, proboscis and legs are folded up along its stomach.
    — Lisa Raffensperger, Discover Magazine, 15 May 2013
  • The species stands out from others by the black tip on the proboscis, a part of the worm that is twice as long as the collar, researchers said.
    — Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 4 June 2024
  • Only four species have been found with longer proboscises, which reach about half of the body length of the bee, according to the study.
    — Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2024
  • This implies that Macrauchenia may have had a mobile proboscis, as pictured here.
    — Josh Rosenblatt, Fox News, 28 June 2017
  • To initiate feeding, the first pump opens to lower the pressure and draw the blood up into the proboscis.
    — Popular Science, 20 Oct. 2020
  • Mosquitoes use their proboscis, or part of their mouth, to cut the skin and get to the capillaries or veins to fill up with blood.
    — USA TODAY, 7 June 2023
  • Their long proboscises, like divining rods, gently make inquiries of the stone.
    — Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Nienaber walked it over to a plant, and the monarch soon unfurled its proboscis into a flower, drawing nectar.
    — Rohan Preston, Star Tribune, 22 Jan. 2021
  • Ideally, the nectar will attract a moth, which will elongate its tongue-like proboscis and stick its head into the tube.
    — Douglas Main, National Geographic, 11 July 2019
  • These rare orchids have long nectar tubes into which moths stick their tonguelike proboscises to reach a sugary reward.
    — National Geographic, 22 July 2019
  • Distinguishable by its rounded abdomen and light-colored band around its proboscis.
    — Emily S. Rueb, New York Times, 28 June 2016
  • About 21 years later, the African hawkmoth was discovered with a foot-long, straw-like mouth called a proboscis.
    — Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2020
  • While one tube in the proboscis draws blood, a second pumps in saliva containing a mild painkiller and an anti-coagulant.
    — Karen Farkas, cleveland.com, 17 May 2017
  • Whichever way a hungry bee turned her head first—sticking out her proboscis in search of sugar water—indicated her choice.
    — Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 3 Feb. 2015
  • Next, the soft protective outer sheath of each insect's proboscis was detached and discarded.
    — New Atlas, 27 Dec. 2025
  • The mosquitoes didn’t have enough force to push their needle-like proboscis through the graphene oxide, which protected the volunteers.
    — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 20 Aug. 2019
  • When photos from the film were released last year, there was some disapproval over Cooper’s large prosthetic proboscis.
    — Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 23 Nov. 2023
  • Armed with a sharp proboscis, immobilizing venom, large compound eyes to locate prey and wings to maneuver through the air.
    — Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 5 Feb. 2023
  • On Adam’s computer screen, the ship now looked like a robotic housefly, its proboscis probing toward an enormous, crumbly piece of gray bread.
    — Chris Wright, Wired, 8 June 2020
  • Some are straightforward paralytics released from a hooked tooth held at the proboscis’s end, which certain snails will launch like a harpoon at hapless fish.
    — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2021
  • These stimuli triggered the brain to activate the motor neurons that in a real fly would move its proboscis, the insect equivalent of a tongue.
    — Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Oct. 2024
  • During the feeding process, the female mosquito uses a mouthpart called the proboscis—which is also used to feed on flowers—to pierce the skin and feed on the blood.
    — Eleesha Lockett, SELF, 8 June 2022
  • Female mosquitoes have strong proboscises that can puncture the skin of animals, allowing the insects to suck their blood.
    — Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Dec. 2023
  • Here’s an image of the rare Dendrophylax lindenii, with its long nectar tubes, into which moths stick their tonguelike proboscises.
    — National Geographic, 31 Oct. 2019
  • Male mosquitoes lack the surprisingly complex needle-like proboscis of the females.
    — Ned Rozell | Alaska Science, Anchorage Daily News, 17 June 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'proboscis.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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