burrow
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.
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.
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.
Origin of burrow
1Other words from burrow
- bur·row·er, noun
- un·bur·rowed, adjective
Words that may be confused with burrow
Words Nearby burrow
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use burrow in a sentence
This subterranean menagerie is capitalizing on an old burrow, gouged into the earth by a massive lizard.
Monitor lizards’ huge burrow systems can shelter hundreds of small animals | Jake Buehler | January 19, 2021 | Science NewsTubenoses can locate their nest burrows by scent and are even able to detect a whiff of plankton while on the wing.
Here’s the real story behind Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ | Tom McNamara | December 3, 2020 | Popular-ScienceIf a burrow is already occupied and is close to the ideal size, or a bit smaller, the mantis shrimp will fight longer and harder for that burrow—and be more likely to win the contest.
There’s no place like the perfectly sized home for the mighty mantis shrimp | Jennifer Ouellette | October 29, 2020 | Ars Technica“The burrow is a massively valuable resource because it is so costly — in terms of energy — to excavate and build,” says Faulkes, of Queen Mary University of London.
Naked mole-rats invade neighboring colonies and steal babies | Jake Buehler | October 20, 2020 | Science NewsTrace fossils also include preserved tracks, burrows and feces.
Fossil stomach reveals a dinosaur’s last meal | Carolyn Wilke | July 7, 2020 | Science News For Students
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 | THE DAILY BEASTYou start with pain, burrow into dirt, get to memory, and end with motive.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTI found a deep, secure burrow within the rubble of Georgetown's fallen Komptar tower.
The Extinction Parade: An Original Zombie Story by Max Brooks | Max Brooks | January 14, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTWe remained secluded in our ramshackle burrow for seven nights, Laila recuperating slowly while I foraged after dark for blood.
The Extinction Parade: An Original Zombie Story by Max Brooks | Max Brooks | January 14, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTUp jumped Nquing from his burrow in the spinifex and shouted, "Go away!"
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard KiplingHenry laid his brother down and stretched his aching arms, while Jess began to burrow into the haystack.
The Box-Car Children | Gertrude Chandler WarnerRats burrow along a drain pipe from the sewer into the house and admit sewer gas.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine | Austin MalleyShe dropped on her knees and examined the toads carefully, while they tried to burrow into the soil backward, to escape the sun.
The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard EatonThey all looked downward and found a sky-blue rabbit had stuck his head out of a burrow in the ground.
The Tin Woodman of Oz | L. Frank Baum
British Dictionary definitions for burrow
/ (ˈbʌrəʊ) /
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
to dig (a burrow) in, through, or under (ground)
(intr often foll by through) to move through by or as by digging: to burrow through the forest
(intr) to hide or live in a burrow
(intr) to delve deeply: he burrowed into his pockets
to hide (oneself)
Origin of burrow
1Derived forms of burrow
- burrower, noun
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
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