pocket mouse

American

noun

any of numerous burrowing rodents, especially of the genus Perognathus, chiefly inhabiting arid regions of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, having fur-lined cheek pouches and a long tail.

pocket mouse British

noun

any small mouselike rodent with cheek pouches, of the genus Perognathus, of desert regions of W North America: family Heteromyidae

"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

Etymology

Origin of pocket mouse

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

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.

Pat is a Pacific pocket mouse, which is the smallest kind of mouse in North America.

From NewsForKids.net • Feb. 14, 2023

By the 1970s, scientists believed that the Pacific pocket mouse had become extinct.

From NewsForKids.net • Feb. 14, 2023

The Pacific pocket mouse is the smallest mouse species in North America.

From BBC • Feb. 9, 2023

But our limited ability to do so means we cannot go without freshwater for nearly so long as the pocket mouse.

From Scientific American • Jun. 15, 2021

Character gradients in the spiny pocket mouse, Liomys irroratus.

From The Recent Mammals of Tamaulipas, Mexico by Alvarez, Ticul

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023