mouse

[ noun mous; verb mouz ]

/ noun maʊs; verb maʊz /

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See synonyms for: mouse / mice / moused / mouses 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.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM mouse

mouselike, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mouse

1. mice, mouses 2. mouse , mousse

Words nearby mouse

Mourning Becomes Electra, mourning cloak, mourning dove, mourning iris, mourning warbler, mouse, mousebird, mouse deer, mouse-dun, mouse-ear, mouse-ear chickweed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use mouse in a sentence

If acupuncture was provided after an LPS shock, then the mice showed even higher levels of inflammation.
We Need New, Safer Ways to Treat Pain. Could Electroacupuncture Be One?|Shelly Fan|August 18, 2020|Singularity Hub
Oatley has demonstrated his technique in mice but faces challenges with livestock.
Biotechnology Could Change the Cattle Industry. Will It Succeed?|Dyllan Furness|August 16, 2020|Singularity Hub
Wang, who reported those results June 15 in Cell Research, says his team is now testing the compound in mice.
How two coronavirus drugs for cats might help humans fight COVID-19|Erin Garcia de Jesus|August 11, 2020|Science News
Further experiments found that disrupting the vCA1 cells when giving mice a shock disrupted the entire network—that is, the waves broke down and the mice forgot their fear.
Towards ‘Eternal Sunshine’? New Links Found Between Memory and Emotion|Shelly Fan|July 28, 2020|Singularity Hub

Of course, it’s hard to ask a mouse if it actually smelled something, so the team took a roundabout approach.
A Highway to Smell: How Scientists Used Light to Incept Smell in Mice|Shelly Fan|July 1, 2020|Singularity Hub
He said he spent his time doing “Mickey Mouse make-work,” digging though old records for long-abandoned well sites.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.|David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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
And Mr. Meadow Mouse often remarked that it had more halls than any other dwelling he had ever seen.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
Some of those halls that Mr. Meadow Mouse mentioned ran right out beneath the surface of the garden.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
Mr. Meadow Mouse repeated, as if he wanted to be sure there was no misunderstanding about it.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
Grandfather Mole demanded of Mr. Meadow Mouse, almost as soon as he had stepped just outside the shade of the toadstool.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
And when he had made his promise to Mr. Meadow Mouse he had had no idea that it was going to rain so soon.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey

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 of mouse

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

Scientific 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.

Cultural 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.

notes for mouse

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.

Other Idioms and Phrases with mouse

mouse

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

mouse

Origin of mouse

OTHER WORDS FROM mouse

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mouse

Words nearby mouse

Words related to mouse

How to use mouse in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mouse

Derived forms of mouse

Word Origin for mouse

Scientific definitions for mouse

Cultural definitions for mouse

notes for mouse

Other Idioms and Phrases with mouse