polecat
Americannoun
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polecats,
plural
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polecat
plural
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a European mammal, Mustela putorius, of the weasel family, having a blackish fur and ejecting a fetid fluid when attacked or disturbed.
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any of various North American skunks.
noun
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Also called (formerly): foumart. a dark brown musteline mammal, Mustela putorius, of woodlands of Europe, Asia, and N Africa, that is closely related to but larger than the weasel and gives off an unpleasant smell See also sweet marten
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any of various related animals, such as the marbled polecat, Vormela peregusna
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a nontechnical name for skunk
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of polecat
1275–1325; Middle English polcat, perhaps equivalent to Middle French pol, poul “chicken” (< Latin pullus ) + cat ( def. )
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.
See Examples For:
Other species that have gotten infected around the world include a badger, bobcat, coyote, dolphin, ferret, fisher cat, fox, lynx, opossum, otter, pig, polecat, porpoise, raccoon, raccoon dog and multiple minks and seals.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2023
I can’t deny that I’ve watched the polecat sequence upwards of a dozen times, but Miller’s film truly comes alive in Furiosa’s howl of desperation, and in Max’s noble disappearance into the throng.
From The Guardian ● May 29, 2018
“We’re preparing for everything. Some wildcat, polecat, everything. Don’t be surprised if they come out there with that ‘Little Giants’ formation or the Flying V. They’ve got something up their sleeve.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 16, 2016
Foreign Affairs Department staff also reported one traveller asking for help looking after her dogs while she was away and one asking for help to get a polecat out of the roof.
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2014
At her neck Pantalaimon lay in his polecat shape, his fur glistening, and Lyra’s hair lay damp across her forehead.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
So far, erythrism has been identified in dozens of species, including reef manta rays, leopards, and European polecats.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 12, 2024
One introductionist I spoke to, Graham Wellstead, has released hundreds of polecats into the English countryside, helping this once-persecuted small carnivore spread across the south and east of the country once again.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 13, 2020
About 40% of the UK's polecats are in Wales while volunteer groups are rebuilding habitats to save reptiles and amphibians such as adders, lizards and great crested newts.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2020
Director Miller is liked and respected by his peers and, at the age of 70, has delivered a film opera big enough to contain feminist ambitions, chainsaw-wielding polecats and barking mad humor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2016
"Ha' you any rats, mice, polecats, or weasels, or any old cows sick o' the measles?"
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
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.
