molt

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molt / mōlt/ (Brit. moult) • v. [intr.] (of an animal) shed old feathers, hair, or skin, or an old shell, to make way for a new growth: the adult birds were already molting into their winter shades of gray | [tr.] the snake molts its skin. ∎  (of hair or feathers) fall out to make way for new growth: the last of his juvenile plumage had molted.• n. a loss of plumage, skin, or hair, esp. as a regular feature of an animal's life cycle.

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