burrow

[ bur-oh, buhr-oh ]

/ ˈbɜr oʊ, ˈbʌr oʊ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR burrow ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a hole or tunnel in the ground made by a rabbit, fox, or similar animal for habitation and refuge.

a place of retreat; shelter or refuge.

verb (used without object)

to make a hole or passage in, into, or under something.

to lodge in a burrow.

to hide.

to proceed by or as if by digging.

verb (used with object)

to put a burrow into (a hill, mountainside, etc.).

to hide (oneself), as in a burrow.

to make by or as if by burrowing: We burrowed our way through the crowd.

Nearby words

burrillville, burrito, burro, burro's tail, burroughs, burrow, burrowing blenny, burrowing owl, burrstone, burry, bursa

Origin of burrow

1325–75; Middle English borow, earlier burh, apparently gradational variant of late Middle English beri burrow, variant of earlier berg refuge, Old English gebeorg, derivative of beorgan to protect; akin to Old English burgen grave, i.e., place of protection for a body; see bury

Related forms

bur·row·er, nounun·bur·rowed, adjective

Can be confused

borough burro burrow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for burrow

If opened, the RAT will burrow into the host computer and give control of the machine to the hacker.
15-Year-Old Egyptian Cyber Activist Takes on Israel|Eli Lake|November 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
You start with pain, burrow into dirt, get to memory, and end with motive.
Who Is Philip Roth’s Portnoy Satirizing?|Bernard Avishai|August 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
This is not a bug that can get on the surface and burrow in.
Necrotizing Fasciitis: How ‘Flesh-Eating Bacteria’ Strike|Casey Schwartz|May 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Species do not burrow in the skin, but produce a scab similar to sheep scab.
Handbook of Medical Entomology|William Albert Riley

Mr Burrow proves himself an artist with many sides to his perception.
The History of Gambling in England|John Ashton
But a great number of the bivalve Testacea, and many also of the turbinated univalves, burrow in sand or mud.
Principles of Geology|Charles Lyell
She picks up the caterpillar, brings it to the mouth of the burrow and lays it down.
A Book of Natural History|Various
They may dig a well, make a cave, or a pond, or burrow underground and make tunnels like a mole.
Study of Child Life|Marion Foster Washburne

British Dictionary definitions for burrow

burrow

/ (ˈbʌrəʊ) /

noun

a hole or tunnel dug in the ground by a rabbit, fox, or other small animal, for habitation or shelter

a small snug place affording shelter or retreat

verb

to dig (a burrow) in, through, or under (ground)

(intr often foll by through) to move through by or as by diggingto burrow through the forest

(intr) to hide or live in a burrow

(intr) to delve deeplyhe burrowed into his pockets

to hide (oneself)

Derived Forms

burrower, noun

Word Origin for burrow

C13: probably a variant of borough

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

burrow

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of burrow

Related forms

Can be confused

Examples from the Web for burrow

British Dictionary definitions for burrow

burrow

noun

verb

Derived Forms

Word Origin for burrow