verb
- sheds or casts off an outer covering, skin, or shell
Usage: biological term; third person singular present
Examples
- The snake exuviates its skin several times a year.
- A cicada exuviates when it emerges from its nymphal stage.
- The crab exuviates its shell as it grows larger.
- During metamorphosis, the insect exuviates its larval skin.
- The lizard exuviates in one complete piece.
- As the arthropod matures, it exuviates multiple times.