squir·rel
ˈskwər(-ə)l 
ˈskwə-rəl,
chiefly British ˈskwir-əl
plural squirrels also squirrel
1
: any of various small or medium-sized rodents (family Sciuridae, the squirrel family): such as
a
: any of numerous New or Old World arboreal forms having a long bushy tail and strong hind legs
b
2
: the fur of a squirrel
squirreled or squirrelled; squirreling or squirrelling
: to store up for future use
—often used with away
squirrel away some money
Synonyms
Examples of squirrel in a Sentence
Verb
squirreled the information away for future reference
Recent Examples on the Web
Emma Marsden, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
The late-night show then cut to a clip of vice presidential candidate JD Vance bringing up Peanut the squirrel’s death.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024
Scistarter Team, Discover Magazine, 21 Jan. 2024
Freelancers, aware of this, try to squirrel some of their fees away throughout the year to see them through to March, when productions start crewing up again.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 25 May 2023
See all Example Sentences for squirrel 
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Noun
In addition, a person involved with the investigation was bitten by the squirrel.
—Emma Marsden, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
The late-night show then cut to a clip of vice presidential candidate JD Vance bringing up Peanut the squirrel’s death.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
Every squirrel has a science story to tell, but, sadly, squirrels vastly outnumber squirrel scientists.
—Scistarter Team, Discover Magazine, 21 Jan. 2024
Freelancers, aware of this, try to squirrel some of their fees away throughout the year to see them through to March, when productions start crewing up again.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 25 May 2023
See all Example Sentences for squirrel
Dictionary Entries Near squirrel
Cite this Entry
“Squirrel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squirrel. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
squirrel
1 of 2 noun
squir·rel
ˈskwər(-ə)l
ˈskwə-rəl
plural squirrels also squirrel
1
: any of various small or medium-sized rodents
especially
: one with a long bushy tail and strong hind legs used especially for leaping from tree branch to tree branch
2
: the fur of a squirrel
squirrel
2 of 2 verb
squirreled or squirrelled; squirreling or squirrelling
: to store up for future use
—often used with away
squirreled away all his spare change
Etymology
Noun
Middle English squirel "squirrel," from early French esquirel (same meaning), derived from Latin sciurus (same meaning), from Greek skiouros "squirrel," from skia "shadow" and oura "tail"
Word Origin
When a squirrel sits up to eat or to look around, it often raises its bushy tail up against its back and over its head as if to shade itself. The ancient Greeks noticed this habit, and they called the animal skiouros. This word was made up of skia, meaning "shadow," and oura, "tail." The Romans turned this into the Latin word sciurus, which made its way into early French as esquirel. English squirrel was borrowed from the French.
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