mouse

[ noun mous; verb mouz ]

/ noun maʊs; verb maʊz /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mouse ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural mice [mahys] /maɪs/.

any of numerous small Old World rodents of the family Muridae, especially of the genus Mus, introduced widely in other parts of the world.

any similar small animal of various rodent and marsupial families.

a quiet, timid person.

Computers. a palm-sized, button-operated pointing device that can be used to move, select, activate, and change items on a computer screen.Compare joystick(def 2), stylus(def 3).

Informal. a swelling under the eye, caused by a blow or blows; black eye.

Slang. a girl or woman.

verb (used with object), moused, mous·ing.

to hunt out, as a cat hunts out mice.

Nautical. to secure with a mousing.

verb (used without object), moused, mous·ing.

to hunt for or catch mice.

to prowl about, as if in search of something: The burglar moused about for valuables.

to seek or search stealthily or watchfully, as if for prey.

Computers. to use a mouse to move the cursor on a computer screen to any position.

Nearby words

mourning cloak, mourning dove, mourning iris, mourning warbler, mourningly, mouse, mouse deer, mouse pad, mouse type, mouse-dun, mouse-ear

Origin of mouse

before 900; Middle English mous (plural mis), Old English mūs (plural mȳs); cognate with German Maus, Old Norse mūs, Latin mūs, Greek mŷs

Related forms

mouse·like, adjective

Can be confused

mice mousesmouse mousse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mouse

So Western governments are caught in a cat-and-mouse game and at times it is unclear who is the cat and who the mouse.
ISIS Has a Message. Do We?|Jamie Dettmer|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even the original score to the song labels the singing parts, “Mouse” (the woman) and “Wolf” (the man).
The Most WTF Covers of ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside,’ Everyone’s Favorite Date-Rape Holiday Classic|Kevin Fallon|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The episode was titled “Cat and Mouse” and it follows in the pattern of classic Serlingesque plot twists.
How a War-Weary Vet Created ‘The Twilight Zone’|Rich Goldstein|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the event, in the long cat and mouse game that Stalin played with him, the cat did not pounce.
When Stalin Met Lady Macbeth|Brian Moynahan|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In another study, children saw a puppet show where a mouse was eaten by an alligator.
Why Are Millennials Unfriending Organized Religion?|Vlad Chituc|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This happened and that happened and if the news arrived at Key West as a mouse, it was often enough cabled north as an elephant.
Wounds in the rain|Stephen Crane
And before I finished the teaching, not a mouse would come to my table, no matter how persuasively I squeaked.
Secret of the Woods|William J. Long
A Lion asleep in his lair was waked up by a Mouse running over his face.
Aesop's Fables|Aesop
Diana, fancy if you can my extreme horror at finding a mouse drowned in that pudding sauce!
Anne Of Green Gables|Lucy Maud Montgomery
The door opens right easy and in slides Mr. Raynor, same as a mouse into a trap.
J. Poindexter, Colored|Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb

British Dictionary definitions for mouse

mouse

noun (maʊs) plural mice (maɪs)

any of numerous small long-tailed rodents of the families Muridae and Cricetidae that are similar to but smaller than ratsSee also fieldmouse, harvest mouse, house mouse Related adjective: murine

any of various related rodents, such as the jumping mouse

a quiet, timid, or cowardly person

computing a hand-held device used to control the cursor movement and select computing functions without keying

slang a black eye

nautical another word for mousing

verb (maʊz)

to stalk and catch (mice)

(intr) to go about stealthily

(tr) nautical to secure (a hook) with mousing

Derived Forms

mouselike, adjective

Word Origin for mouse

Old English mūs; compare Old Saxon mūs, German Maus, Old Norse mūs, Latin mūs, Greek mūs

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Science definitions for mouse

mouse

[ mous ]

Plural mice (mīs) or mouses

A hand-held input device that is moved about on a flat surface to direct the cursor on a computer screen. It also has buttons for activating computer functions. The underside of a mechanical mouse contains a rubber-coated ball that rotates as the mouse is moved; optical sensors detect the motion and move the screen pointer correspondingly. An optical mouse is cordless and uses reflections from an LED to track the mouse's movement over a special reflective mat which is marked with a grid that acts as a frame of reference.

Culture definitions for mouse

mouse

A common device that allows the user to reposition an arrow on their computer screen in order to activate desired applications. The term mouse comes from the appearance of the device, with the cord to the main computer being seen as a tail of sorts.

Note

The user usually sends signals to the computer when the user depresses or “clicks” a switch. A number of slang terms, such as “click on X” or “click and drag” have arisen from the appearance of symbols on a screen when a mouse is used.

Idioms and Phrases with mouse

mouse

see play cat and mouse; poor as a churchmouse; quiet as a mouse. Also see under mice.