From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishplatypusplat‧y‧pus /ˈplætəpəs/ noun [countable] HBAa small furry Australian animal that has a beak and feet like a duck, lays eggs, and produces milk for its young
Examples from the Corpus
platypus• The only other type of mammal to employ chemical warfare is the duck-billed platypus.• The male of the duck-billed platypus has sharp poison-spurs on its hind legs.• The duck-billed platypus is an even more astonishing animal.• One must remember, too, that Patrick Barrington's literary platypus was herself employed in the Foreign Office!• The male platypus possesses on its hind legs a large, reversible spur.• The mystery with the platypus venom is why it evolved.• The platypus, along with its cousins the echidnas, is an egg-laying mammal yet suckles its young on milk!Origin platypus (1700-1800) Modern Latin Greek platypous “flat-footed” 