burrow
Americannoun
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a hole or tunnel in the ground made by a rabbit, fox, or similar animal to live or hide in.
Even in winter, chipmunks are active in their burrows and emerge on sunny days.
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a place of retreat; shelter or refuge.
His study is his burrow—we have to coax him out for every meal.
verb (used without object)
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to make a hole or passage in, into, or under something.
This small bird can survive cold Arctic nights by burrowing into the snow.
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to lodge in an underground hole or tunnel.
Many rodents burrow over the winter.
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to hide.
My cat likes to burrow under the rug and surprise me by jumping out as I walk past.
Fleeing fame, he burrowed in a small town to focus on his family for a decade or so.
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to proceed by or as if by digging.
Buried under sediment, the clams can burrow up to the surface from a depth of 16 inches.
Stray dogs burrowed through the piles of trash looking for scraps.
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to penetrate deeply into something so as to investigate, exploit, or influence it, etc..
In her book on the brain, the writer burrows into the workings of an organ once deemed unknowable.
These nasty computer viruses are adept at burrowing into your system.
verb (used with object)
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to dig holes or passages into (a hill, mountainside, etc.).
When earthworms burrow the soil, they aerate it and help plant roots to penetrate deeper.
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to hide or shelter in a safe, snug space.
The abandoned pup had burrowed itself in the straw of the barn out of pure fear.
She burrowed the runt piglet in her coat till she had completed her chores in the barn.
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to make by or as if by digging.
We burrowed our way through the crowd.
verb phrase
noun
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a hole or tunnel dug in the ground by a rabbit, fox, or other small animal, for habitation or shelter
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a small snug place affording shelter or retreat
verb
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to dig (a burrow) in, through, or under (ground)
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to move through by or as by digging
to burrow through the forest
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(intr) to hide or live in a burrow
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(intr) to delve deeply
he burrowed into his pockets
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to hide (oneself)
Other Word Forms
- burrower noun
- unburrowed adjective
Etymology
Origin of burrow
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English borow, earlier burh, of uncertain origin; perhaps from Old English gebeorg “refuge,” noun derivative of beorgan “to hide, protect, preserve” (compare late Middle English beri “burrow,” variant of earlier berg “refuge”); akin to Old English burgen “grave” (in the sense “place of protection for a body”); bury
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Rats live in drains, sewers and burrows, and emerge mostly at night, so counting them is nearly impossible and estimates on rat population figures vary.
From BBC
Ella is fiercely committed to her job, burrowing into the minutiae of legislation to become deeply connected to it emotionally.
From Los Angeles Times
England finished the half, turning down a kick at goal and seeming to turn out the lights on the contest when Cowan-Dickie burrowed over from the subsequent driven line-out.
From BBC
According to him, he had indeed burrowed into a trove of data from a large materials-science company, as his paper said he did.
Besides its namesake, the Chuckwalla lizard, the area is home to bighorn sheep, desert tortoises, kangaroo rats, burrowing owls and jackrabbits.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
