mongoose

American  

[mong-goos, mon-] / ˈmɒŋˌgus, ˈmɒn- /

noun

• mongooses
  plural

1. a slender, ferretlike carnivore, Herpestes edwardsi, of India, that feeds on rodents, birds, and eggs, noted especially for its ability to kill cobras and other venomous snakes.

2. any of several other animals of this genus or related genera.

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mongoose British  

/ ˈmɒŋˌɡuːs /

noun

1. any small predatory viverrine mammal of the genus Herpestes and related genera, occurring in Africa and from S Europe to SE Asia, typically having a long tail and brindled coat

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Usage

Plural word for mongoose The plural form of mongoose is mongooses (not mongeese). The plurals of some other singular words that end in -oose are also formed this way, including caboose/cabooses and papoose/papooses. The plural mongooses is confusing because the plural of goose is the irregular form geese, which derives directly from its original pluralization in Old English. However, the term mongoose only uses the standard English plural -s ending.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mongooses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of mongoose

1690–1700; < Marathi mangūs, variant of muṅgūs

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mongoose mongooses

Scream queen Samara Weaving has an extraordinary yell: shrill, feral and ferocious, like a mongoose before it goes on the attack.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026

Their female generals lead troops of between 6 and 40 of these little berserker weasels into battle with a plan of attack coordinated beside grizzly mongoose war veterans.

From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2024

In return, the mongoose hunted rabbits for the family, told them legends and fairy tales, and made jokes.

From National Geographic ● Sep. 19, 2023

Meerkats, slender-tailed creatures with pointy faces, are members of the mongoose family and are native to Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

From New York Times ● Jun. 15, 2023

The mongoose swiped a paw through the air and the mamba lunged, striking at its paw with terrifying accuracy.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

A man who lives in a log cabin and keeps wallabies, mongooses, porcupines, parrots and other rare birds has been told to move.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

On the course, elaborate tombs of the city's past rulers poke through tangled trees that are home to peacocks, troops of monkeys and mongooses.

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2025

Using a decade of life-history data from a wild population of dwarf mongooses, University of Bristol researchers found that pup survival rate actually increased when the cumulative threat of conflict with rival groups was greater.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2023

For the dwarf mongooses at Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, the most intense power struggles occur between groups.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 15, 2022

The mongooses continue forward, oblivious to the aboatia’s hiding spot.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

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