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weasel

weasel

42 1.0
A small animal that hunts other animals, with a long thin body and short legs
  • noun
  • /ˈwiːzəl/
translation icon : comadreja
  • Both the long-tailed and the short-tailed weasels change to white winter coats.
  • common weasel
  • long-tailed weasel
  • short-tailed weasel

Here it's a, it's a huge arboreal weasel and they'll come check you out.

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Examples

  • There are three kinds of weasels in the Northern Hemisphere, although most places have only two.

    Academic text (1991)
  • A mile out of town, the weasel veered off in the direction of some craggy hills.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Nothing can kill that weasel.

  • You remember what the chicken said to the weasel?

  • And, equally clearly, the weasel body plan works well in a great range of sizes.

    Academic text (1991)
  • PHOTO: A short-tailed weasel peers out of a stone wall, a favorite habitat.

    Academic text (1991)
  • PHOTO: In Vermont, a female short-tailed weasel in summer coat tears into a ruffed grouse she has killed.

    Academic text (1991)
  • I spotted a weasel lurking in the garden, its sleek body blending in with the bushes.

  • During our hike, we observed a weasel darting quickly across the path in search of food.

  • The weasel is known for its agility and hunting skills, often preying on small rodents.

Idioms

to be a weasel
  • Offensive
1 9.7

To avoid blame by lying or being tricky

Compounds

weasel word
  • Literature
2 8.3

Words or phrases that avoid saying something clearly and often make people believe something untrue

A small wild animal with a long body and a black-tipped tail that eats rats and mice

A small wild animal with a long black-tipped tail that eats mice and rats

A very small wild mammal in Canada and northeastern United States that turns white in winter

A very small weasel from Europe and Asia with a long thin body and short legs

A small mammal that eats meat and turns white in winter

weasel war dance
  • Informal
9.9

A wild, excited dance that ferrets or weasels do when they are happy

How Agile

squirrel
232 1.0
weasel
42 1.0
mongoose
15 5.5
cat
1.0
dog
1.0
elephant
389 1.0

Surface Forms

weasel singular
weasels plural

Etymology

Weasel comes from an old German word Wiesel, which named the 'small, quick animal'. Think of a long, thin hunter that slips into holes and moves very fast, which is why we use the word for that little carnivore.