Synonyms

weasel

American

[wee-zuhl] / ˈwi zəl /

noun

any small carnivore of the genus Mustela, of the family Mustelidae, having a long, slender body and feeding chiefly on small rodents.
any of various similar animals of the family Mustelidae.
a cunning, sneaky person.
a tracked vehicle resembling a tractor, used in snow.
Slang. an informer; stool pigeon.

verb (used without object)

to evade an obligation, duty, or the like; renege (often followed byout ).

That's one invitation I'd like to weasel out of.
to use weasel words; be ambiguous; mislead.

Upon cross-examination the witness began to weasel.
Slang. to inform.

weasel British

/ ˈwiːzəl /

noun

any of various small predatory musteline mammals of the genus Mustela and related genera, esp M. nivalis ( European weasel ), having reddish-brown fur, an elongated body and neck, and short legs
informal a sly or treacherous person
a motor vehicle for use in snow, esp one with caterpillar tracks

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

weaselly

adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of weasel

before 900; 1920–25 weasel for def. 6; Middle English wesele, Old English wesle, weosule; cognate with Old High German wisula, German Wiesel

Explanation

A weasel is a sneaky and sly person. Your weasel of a friend has a habit of "forgetting" his wallet every time he goes out to dinner with you. You can call someone who cheats and lies a weasel, or you can use the word literally, to refer to the small furry mammal called a weasel. The furry kind of weasel is known for its short legs, long neck, and musky smell. In fact, the word's Proto-Germanic origin wisand carries the meaning of a stinky animal. The verb weasel means to sneak or evade, like when you weasel out of doing the dishes.

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Vocabulary lists containing weasel

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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.

"He's a weasel of a man because every time he's confronted, he becomes sick or says one of his family members has died," says Marns, who now lives in Dubai.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

“But when universities do the same thing by trying to weasel out of their contracts, it’s equally corrosive.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

Although Kennedy repeatedly claimed that he's not anti-vaccine throughout his hearing, his statements about vaccines are loaded with weasel words and caveats that are common deflection strategies from vaccine denialists.

From Salon • Feb. 5, 2025

Lacking Spotify, they decided to pass the time by undertaking “an enumeration and actual count” of road-killed animals—a battered weasel here, a flattened garter snake there.

From Slate • May 25, 2024

You could see the occasional dash or scuttle of a rabbit or a vole or a weasel as it slipped out of the undergrowth and across the path.

From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023