shrew

¹ American  

[shroo] / ʃru /

noun

1. a woman of violent temper and speech; termagant.

   Synonyms:

   scold, nag, virago

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shrew ² American  

[shroo] / ʃru /

noun

1. any of several small, mouselike insectivores of the genus Sorex and related genera, having a long, sharp snout.

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shrew British  

/ ʃruː /

noun

1. Also called: shrewmouse.  any small mouse-like long-snouted mammal, such as Sorex araneus ( common shrew ), of the family Soricidae: order Insectivora (insectivores) See also water shrew

2. a bad-tempered or mean-spirited woman

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Other Word Forms

• shrewlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of shrew¹

1200–50; Middle English; special use of shrew ²

Origin of shrew²

before 900; Middle English (only in compounds), Old English scrēawa

Example Sentences

The tree shrew had the highest intake at 1.4 g/kg/day, while the honeybee had the lowest at 0.05 g/kg/day.

From Science Daily

Originally known as shrews, the small African mammals are more closely related to elephants, manatees and aardvarks and were officially renamed as sengi in 1998.

From BBC

Purgatorius, a small mammal about the size of a shrew, appears in the fossil record shortly after the dinosaurs went extinct around 65.9 million years ago.

From Science Daily

Animals, like pocket gophers, deer mice, shrews, voles, and other small mammals, were still in their winter burrows.

From Literature

The bus driver was a small shrew who didn’t bother much with discipline, as he was too busy trying to see far enough over the steering wheel to drive without killing anything.

From Literature