marten
Americannoun
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any of several slender, chiefly arboreal carnivores of the genus Martes, of northern forests, having a long, glossy coat and bushy tail.
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the fur of such an animal, generally a dark brown.
noun
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any of several agile arboreal musteline mammals of the genus Martes, of Europe, Asia, and North America, having bushy tails and golden brown to blackish fur See also pine marten
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the highly valued fur of these animals, esp that of M. americana
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of marten
1375–1425; < Middle Low German, equivalent to mart marten (cognate with Old English mearth ) + -en -en 5; replacing late Middle English martren < Middle French martrine marten fur, noun use of feminine of martrin pertaining to a marten, equivalent to martre marten (< Germanic; compare German Marder ) + -in -in 1
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:
Each pine marten has been fitted with a radio collar so researchers can follow their fortunes over the next six to nine months.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025
Sixteen of those species are considered species of management concern, such as the great gray owl, wolverine, Pacific marten, and northern rubber boa.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 21, 2023
The pine marten was once found across the UK, but has declined dramatically due to deforestation and hunting.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2023
Taken together, the evidence suggests grizzlies in the region are losing toes to marten traps, the researchers reported last month in the Wildlife Society Bulletin.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 2, 2022
One of Capricorn’s men kicked out as the marten shot past his legs, but Gwin got away and disappeared behind one of the red columns.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
Dormice, hedgehogs, pine martens and water voles are the mammals that the project has identified as a priority.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
The government has backed a number of species reintroduction programmes over the years as part of efforts to reverse this trend including re-establishing pine martens, beavers and whitefaced darter dragonflies.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
The trust said pine martens were a "critical" part of woodland ecosystems and performed a very important "balancing effect within the woodland".
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025
Exceptions were martens, rats, wasps, slugs and urban pigeons.
From Science Daily ● May 8, 2024
No foxes or pine martens had gone near it; no ravens had feasted here.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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.
