rodent

[ rohd-nt ]

/ ˈroʊd nt /

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adjective

belonging or pertaining to the gnawing or nibbling mammals of the order Rodentia, including the mice, squirrels, beavers, etc.

noun

a rodent mammal.

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Origin of rodent

1825–35; <New Latin RodentiaRodentia

OTHER WORDS FROM rodent

ro·dent·like, adjective

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

How to use rodent in a sentence

Step too far off the beaten path and you could be faced with diseased rodents and filthy insects.
New York’s Scariest Night Out: The Ghosts, Rats, and Lunatics of ‘Nightmare New York’|Justin Jones|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Another week, he caught scores of the rodents that had been conducting raids on vegetables.
The Crazy Medieval Island of Sark|Liza Foreman|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Promising work has been completed in rodents but none yet has been reported in primates.
Emory Will Wage High-Tech War on Ebola|Kent Sepkowitz|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Snakes, lizards, rodents, fish, spiders, crickets—all inside an apartment no larger than a hotel suite.
The Weird Underground World of Urban Animal Husbandry|Dale Eisinger|May 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The initial study was based on observations of tumors in only 18 rodents and one rabbit.
How Big Pharma Holds Back in the War on Cancer|ProPublica|April 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The only example among vertebrates is that of the beavers, members of the low order of rodents.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
Bow traps are placed along the tracks of civets, ichneumons, and rodents, which snap and strangle them.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
He could not understand the reason for such wholesale extermination, since certainly the rabbitlike rodents were harmless.
Star Born|Andre Norton
Yamba told me that there would have been no help for us had we been overtaken on foot by these migratory rodents.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont|Louis de Rougemont
Man will then find himself in his proper and rather indistinct place in the crowd, beside the monkeys, rodents and bats.
The Natural Philosophy of Love|Remy de Gourmont

British Dictionary definitions for rodent

rodent

/ (ˈrəʊdənt) /

noun

any of the relatively small placental mammals that constitute the order Rodentia, having constantly growing incisor teeth specialized for gnawing. The group includes porcupines, rats, mice, squirrels, marmots, etc
(as modifier)rodent characteristics

Derived forms of rodent

rodent-like, adjective

Word Origin for rodent

C19: from Latin rōdere to gnaw, corrode

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 rodent

rodent

[ rōd′nt ]

Any of various very numerous, mostly small mammals of the order Rodentia, having large front teeth used for gnawing. The teeth grow throughout the animal's life, and are kept from getting too long by gnawing. Rodents make up about half the living species of mammals, and include rats, mice, beavers, squirrels, lemmings, shrews, and hamsters.

rodent

Origin of rodent

OTHER WORDS FROM rodent

Words related to rodent

How to use rodent in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rodent

Derived forms of rodent

Word Origin for rodent

Scientific definitions for rodent