groundhog
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of groundhog
Explanation
Groundhogs are large rodents that are native to North America. Legend has it that if a groundhog emerges from hibernation and sees its shadow on February 2, there will be six more weeks of winter. Gardeners and ranchers consider groundhogs to be pests, because they nibble on vegetables and plants and have a habit of tunneling underground to construct elaborate burrows. These stocky rodents are closely related to marmots, prairie dogs, and squirrels. In some parts of the U.S. they're known as woodchucks, and in other regions people call them whistle pigs. Historians trace the first Groundhog Day to the mid 19th century.
Vocabulary lists containing groundhog
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 2–February 8, 2025
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 17–August 23, 2024
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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:
Kimi Antonelli led George Russell to a Mercedes one-two in a practice session at the Canadian Grand Prix that was interrupted after Alex Albon's Williams collided with a groundhog.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
A 3D groundhog could replace a weary Punxsutawney Phil.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 22, 2026
"Being away from home, waking up early on a daily basis – it's like groundhog day," Draper told BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2025
The groundhog family lives in a climate-controlled burrow at the local library.
From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2024
Digdown the old groundhog was giving another one of her fireside speeches.
From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown
There have been a number of incidents where drivers have collided with groundhogs at the Canadian Grand Prix, including one last year involving Hamilton's Ferrari.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
Yellow-bellied marmots are a large ground squirrel closely related to groundhogs.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2024
Designated groundhogs in other Canadian provinces were luckier in fulfilling their duty.
From Reuters ● Feb. 2, 2023
Muskrats, rats, raccoons, beavers, groundhogs — if your problem is big enough, and wild enough, the Mink Man might just take care of it at no cost.
From New York Times ● Aug. 30, 2022
She asked her burrowing friends, the moles and the groundhogs, to dig through the dirt and loosen the soil.
From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown
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.
