gerbil
Americannoun
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any of numerous small burrowing rodents of the genus Gerbillus and related genera, of Asia, Africa, and southern Russia, having long hind legs used for jumping.
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Also called tamarisk gerbil. a jird, Meriones unguiculatus, that is popular as a pet.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gerbil
1840–50; < French gerbille < New Latin gerbillus, diminutive of gerbo jerboa
Explanation
A gerbil is a small, mouse-like animal that's often kept as a pet. If you're thinking about adopting a gerbil, you might consider getting two — they're very sociable! Gerbil comes from the Latin genus Gerbillus and its Arabic source, yarbu. There are many different kinds of gerbils, but the Mongolian species is most commonly sold in pet stores. Native to hot climates, these burrowing rodents require bedding to tunnel through and shred, as well as a warm, dry environment to thrive. In the wild, gerbils scamper through grasslands and deserts in Asia and Africa, tunneling underground to evade predators.
Vocabulary lists containing gerbil
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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.
See Examples For:
“I found that you can get a gerbil for four dollars and 99 cents,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2023
For my first experiment, I had the A.I. write a villanelle, a rather difficult poetic form, about the death of a pet gerbil.
From Slate ● Dec. 13, 2022
For me, it was about getting off the gerbil wheel of thoughts constantly spinning in my mind that made it hard to focus.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2022
He fears that with Americans' attention span at gerbil level that there is a chance that people will forget.
From Salon ● May 12, 2022
Neither the camel nor the gerbil existed in the Americas, so the disease never had a chance to exist there.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
People who for years are literally incapable of reason, much less getting their own dinner or finding the six baby gerbils that “somehow” got loose in the bedroom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025
Domestic rats, color-pointed gerbils, and American minks can also carry the mutation.
From National Geographic ● Oct. 27, 2023
Several delicious foods that are safe for humans can be very dangerous for pets in general – not just cats and dogs, but also birds, reptiles and pocket pets like mice, hamsters and gerbils.
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2022
Katheryn gobbled up information online about gerbils, hamsters and mice.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 13, 2021
We drove over to the Castleton theater and watched a 3-D movie about talking gerbils.
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
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.
