muskrat
Americannoun
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a large, aquatic, North American rodent, Ondatra zibethica, having a musky odor.
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its thick, light-brown fur, used for coats, for hats, as a trimming, etc.
noun
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a North American beaver-like amphibious rodent, Ondatra zibethica, closely related to but larger than the voles: family Cricetidae
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the brown fur of this animal
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either of two closely related rodents, Ondatra obscurus or Neofiber alleni ( round-tailed muskrat )
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of muskrat
1680–90, alteration, by folk etymology, of musquash
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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.
Muskrat dinners are still commonplace in Michigan during Lent.
From Salon • Feb. 25, 2023
Rosamund Pike was cast against her icy Bond/Gone Girl type as the cosily droll matriarch and, in inspired casting, Will Self is the voice for the curmudgeonly philosopher Muskrat.
From The Guardian • Apr. 6, 2019
An arrow next to the words “Rattlesnake, Muskrat, etc.” suggested that the swirl was meant to be read counterclockwise.
From New York Times • Sep. 28, 2017
Churchill Falls, upriver from and much bigger than Muskrat Falls, is the biggest nightmare.
From Economist • Aug. 15, 2017
Returning, he gave the venison to his starving family and to Tallow, who shared it out to Auntie Muskrat, to LaPautre’s hungry children, and to Fishtail.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
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.
