hedgehog

American  

[hej-hog, -hawg] / ˈhɛdʒˌhɒg, -ˌhɔg /

noun

1. an Old World, insect-eating mammal of the genus Erinaceus, especially E. europaeus, having spiny hairs on the back and sides.

2. the porcupine.

3. Military.

   1. a portable obstacle made of crossed logs in the shape of an hourglass, usually laced with barbed wire.

   2. an obstructive device consisting of steel bars, angle irons, etc., usually embedded in concrete, designed to damage and impede the boats and tanks of a landing force on a beach.

---

hedgehog British  

/ ˈhɛdʒˌhɒɡ /

noun

1. any small nocturnal Old World mammal of the genus Erinaceus, such as E. europaeus, and related genera, having a protective covering of spines on the back: family Erinaceidae, order Insectivora (insectivores)

2. any other insectivore of the family Erinaceidae, such as the moon rat

3. any of various other spiny animals, esp the porcupine

---

Other Word Forms

• hedgehoggy adjective

Etymology

Origin of hedgehog

First recorded in 1400–50, hedgehog is from the late Middle English word heyghoge. See hedge, hog

Example Sentences

Lying on his side on a dark summer night earlier this year, Sir David Attenborough is watching a hedgehog snuffling around an urban garden.

From BBC

I tell her all of this while I stare at a poster on the opposite wall of a cartoon hedgehog washing his hands.

From Literature

Isaiah Berlin, drawing on an ancient Greek proverb, famously observed that Leo Tolstoy was a foxlike writer who knew many things but longed to be someone who, like the hedgehog, knew one big thing.

From The Wall Street Journal

Penelope sat in her armchair; the girl jumped in her lap and curled up in a protective ball, like a startled hedgehog.

From Literature

However, other protestors pointed to the environmental impact of losing the park as deer, hedgehogs, frogs and other animals are often spotted on the land.

From BBC