squirrel
Americannoun
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squirrels,
plural
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squirrel
plural
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any of numerous arboreal, bushy-tailed rodents of the genus Sciurus, of the family Sciuridae.
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any of various other members of the family Sciuridae, as the chipmunks, flying squirrels, and woodchucks.
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the meat of such an animal.
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the pelt or fur of such an animal.
a coat trimmed with squirrel.
verb (used with object)
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squirrels,
present (3rd person singular)
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squirreled,
past participle, past
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squirrelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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squirreling,
present participle
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squirrelling
present participle (especially British)
noun
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any arboreal sciurine rodent of the genus Sciurus , such as S. vulgaris ( red squirrel ) or S. carolinensis ( grey squirrel ), having a bushy tail and feeding on nuts, seeds, etc
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any other rodent of the family Sciuridae , such as a ground squirrel or a marmot
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the fur of such an animal
-
informal a person who hoards things
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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squirrelsimple
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squirrelssimple
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have squirreledperfect
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have squirrelledperfect
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has squirreledperfect
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has squirrelledperfect
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am squirrelingprogressive
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am squirrellingprogressive
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are squirrelingprogressive
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are squirrellingprogressive
-
is squirrelingprogressive
-
is squirrellingprogressive
-
have been squirrelingperfect progressive
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have been squirrellingperfect progressive
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has been squirrelingperfect progressive
-
has been squirrellingperfect progressive
Past
-
squirreledsimple
-
squirrelledsimple
-
had squirreledperfect
-
had squirrelledperfect
-
was squirrelingprogressive
-
was squirrellingprogressive
-
were squirrelingprogressive
-
were squirrellingprogressive
-
had been squirrelingperfect progressive
-
had been squirrellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of squirrel
1325–75; Middle English squirel < Anglo-French escuirel ( Old French escuireul ) ≪ Vulgar Latin *scūrellus, *scūriolus, representing Latin sciurus (< Greek skíouros literally, shadow-tailed ( ski ( á ) shadow + -ouros, adj. derivative of ourá tail); apparently so called because the tail was large enough to provide shade for the rest of the animal) with diminutive suffixes -ellus, -olus
Explanation
Squirrels are rodents that live in trees and have big, bushy tails. You've probably seen many squirrels in the park eating acorns and seeds. A well-known characteristic of squirrels is gathering nuts and seeds to store for the winter: you can say they squirrel away that food. You can squirrel things away, too, like squirreling away money in your savings account to use later. If you find a great sale on snow boots in the middle of summer, you might take advantage of the bargain and squirrel those boots away for your trip to northern Canada in January.
Vocabulary lists containing squirrel
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.
See Examples For:
A Tigers spokesperson told The Times on Tuesday that the team’s understanding is that the squirrel was in “fine health” after it was removed and released.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
One dead squirrel has been recovered and it is being tested in Edinburgh to establish if it was a case of squirrelpox - a disease carried by greys but deadly to reds.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
"Jian and the other microraptors probably weren't capable of true, powered flight, but they could probably glide like a flying squirrel," says O'Connor.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
During the game, he stays calm while a squirrel approaches him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
The fire leapt from tree to tree, almost like a squirrel.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Several squirrels have frequented the ballpark during Tigers games over the years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"Squirrelpox is carried by the invasive grey squirrels that were brought into this country at the end of the 1800s," he said.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
The greys carry - but are not affected by - a pox which kills red squirrels.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Observe: There are no plants building cathedrals, squirrels gazing at the stars or two AI models on a date night looking into each other’s eyes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
“The city is no place for a squirrel,” Penelope began, but then thought better of it, for of course the many parks of London were no doubt overrun with squirrels.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Andrzejewski’s company now has 30 boxes of pennies squirreled away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025
"I haven't been on wages for the past two weeks. I'm now dipping into savings, money that I've squirreled away for retirement, with no insight into exactly when this will be over."
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2025
The powder was designed to trap the greenhouse gas in its microscopic pores, then release it when it’s ready to be squirreled away someplace where it can’t contribute to global warming.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2024
It was from frankly upsetting circumstances, so I’ve squirreled it away in some high-yield savings accounts and continued to live comfortably off my regular income.
From Slate ● Apr. 3, 2024
My heart squirreled in my chest at the thought of my new home, now within reach.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
"I just feel like right now, we need that money squirrelled away in a safe spot," he said.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2025
During the late 2000s, when Pliny the Younger became the most sought-after ale in North America, Brouwer’s had kegs of the triple IPA squirrelled away.
From Seattle Times ● May 28, 2024
Given the lax-to-nonexistent policing in Ottawa, it’s impossible to know what else could be squirrelled away in the convoy’s warren of vehicles, tents, and bases.
From Slate ● Feb. 17, 2022
Before they left, they squirrelled away tens of billions of dollars in government funds in a network of private bank accounts around the world.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 16, 2019
For the City’s most ambitious financiers, this was tantalising: there was all this money squirrelled away, doing nothing much, and it was exactly what they needed in their quest to start selling bonds again.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 7, 2018
But, mindful of fluctuating costs, they have also been taking steps to reduce their fuel consumption, while "squirreling away that extra little bit of cash".
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
You have to choose — there’s no squirreling out of it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
Officials have been squirreling away reserves in anticipation of the contract, though they’re unlikely to cover the full cost.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2024
“I just worry about the undisclosed kind of squirreling money away,” Rossman said.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 10, 2023
On the back of an envelope left beside the museum phone, she has sketched an enormous tree, laden with flowers, the branches squirreling over the flap.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
He still rereads his manuscripts from the beginning each day—an increasing burden, as each book goes on—stripping away what’s superfluous and squirrelling new ideas into the gaps.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 9, 2019
In early 2016 some analysts fretted that consumers were squirrelling away the money they were saving on cheap petrol, and so denying the economy a needed fillip.
From Economist ● Dec. 14, 2017
There’s no heavy murk or gothic doom, just that gorgeous, squirrelling synth that’s sad and sweet, vulnerable and lost.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 15, 2015
Frances Smith said: "We have support from people on all sides – it's not just bookshops, it's also other independent retailers who are struggling, while these multinational companies are squirrelling away money."
From The Guardian ● Jul. 2, 2013
Unbeknown to them, Farepak, the savings club they were squirrelling their cash into, was in serious trouble.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 21, 2012
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.
