house mouse

American  

noun

1. a brownish-gray Old World mouse, Mus musculus, now common in the U.S. in or near houses.

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house mouse British  

noun

1. any of various greyish mice of the Old World genus Mus, esp M. musculus, a common household pest in most parts of the world: family Muridae

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Etymology

Origin of house mouse

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

Through comparative analysis, the team showed that similar specialized gene expression patterns are also employed by other animals -- including the house mouse -- during diapause.

From Science Daily • May 28, 2024

“We’re the most successful mammal on the planet Earth. The house mouse is the second-most successful. Then rats probably come in third,” he says.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 13, 2023

Finally, as Searle and colleagues documented in 2015, Azorean house mice share a substantial amount of DNA with house mouse populations that originated in northern Europe.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 3, 2021

Subspecies of the house mouse have diverged to such an extent that when they mix, they often beget sterile males.

From New York Times • Aug. 14, 2014

House Mouse.—The house mouse did not reach Washtenaw County until several years after the settlement of the district.

From The Mammals of Washtenaw County, Michigan Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, No. 123 by Wood, Norman