vole

¹ American  

[vohl] / voʊl /

noun

1. any of several small mouselike or ratlike rodents of the genus Microtus and related genera, having short limbs and a short tail.

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vole ² American  

[vohl] / voʊl /

noun

1. Cards. the winning by one player of all the tricks of a deal.

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idioms

1. go the vole,

   1. to venture everything on the chance of great rewards.

   2. to try one after another, as a variety of occupations.

      He went the vole and finally settled on watchmaking.

vole ¹ British  

/ vəʊl /

noun

1. any of numerous small rodents of the genus Microtus and related genera, mostly of Eurasia and North America and having a stocky body, short tail, and inconspicuous ears: family Cricetidae See also water vole

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vole ² British  

/ vəʊl /

noun

1. (in some card games, such as écarté) the taking of all the tricks in a deal, thus scoring extra points

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Etymology

Origin of vole¹

1795–1805; short for volemouse field mouse, perhaps < Norwegian *vollmus, equivalent to voll field ( cf. wold ¹) + mus mouse

Origin of vole²

1670–80; < French, derivative of voler to fly < Latin volāre

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vole

She holds out a small Tic Tac-shaped dropping from a water vole and smiles.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

The water vole project works in tandem with another river trust scheme, which sees teams working with the Waterlife Recovery Trust to eradicate the mink population from Surrey.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

She has been on the hunt for evidence of the water vole population in the Hogsmill River in Surrey.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

The UK has lost as much as 90% of its water vole population since the 1970s, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

The young mouse ran, pushing the vole in front of him and calling out: “Run, keep going, Mr. Vole! Try to make it to the woods and hide.”

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

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