gray squirrel

American  

[grey skwur-uhl, skwuhr‐] / ˈgreɪ ˈskwɜr əl, ˈskwʌr‐ /

noun

1. a gray-colored arboreal squirrel: North American species include the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis ) of the eastern and midwestern U.S. and southeastern Canada, the western gray squirrel (S. griseus ) of the coastal western U.S. and Mexico, the Arizona gray squirrel (S. arizonensis ) of eastern Arizona and adjacent Mexico, and the Mexican gray squirrel (S. aureogaster ), found from Guatemala north through eastern Mexico to the Florida Keys.

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Etymology

Origin of gray squirrel

An Americanism dating back to 1615–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gray squirrel

You reviewed my picture and you were like, ‘Yeah, that is a squirrel. An Eastern gray squirrel.’’’

From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2022

Birdfeeders may need squirrel-proof housing to avoid interlopers like the non-native gray squirrel.

From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2022

“Washington is home to six species of squirrels, including the Eastern gray squirrel, which also comes in black.”

From Washington Post ● Dec. 10, 2020

Seems the gray squirrel population has overwhelmed the host red squirrels.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 24, 2020

That's when a gray squirrel leaps out of the trash like a firecracker on the Fourth of July.

From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi