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.

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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

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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

To investigate hedgehog hearing, researchers at the University of Oxford worked with collaborators in Denmark to measure the auditory brainstem response of 20 rehabilitated hedgehogs from Danish wildlife rescue centers.

From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2026

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 • Nov. 21, 2025

The whole exchange took me back to when Loki and I first spoke, when I asked him if a hedgehog meme was enough to make people love Tesla again.

From Slate • Sep. 26, 2025

"Instead, we have an animal bristling with spikes like a hedgehog, the most bizarre armour that we've ever found in any animal, far outside the range of armour seen in later ankylosaurs."

From BBC • Aug. 27, 2025

He spat on his hands, then he split open the hot clay and smelled the sweet flesh of the hedgehog, which had cooked, slowly, in the embers, as he had slept.

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman