From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpossumpos‧sum /ˈpɒsəm $ ˈpɑː-/ (also opossum) noun [countable] 1 HBAone of various types of small furry animals that climb trees and live in America or Australia2 → play possum
Examples from the Corpus
possum• As the day winds on, he collects a few possums, a couple of skunks.• Human possums avoid conflict by agreeing with whichever side is talking to them at the time.• Glover eased back in his chair and played possum.• If this fails to deter the enemy, the possum promptly drops dead.• Out of Canberra you can see wombats, possums and kangaroos at dusk if you leave the main road.Origin possum (1600-1700) opossum 