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.

---

vole ² American  

[vohl] / voʊl /

noun

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

---

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

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of vole¹

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

Origin of vole²

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

Example Sentences

"They say wildcats live on voles. Well, voles are feeding my barn owls so if you reduce the vole population you are having an effect on the barn owls," he explained.

From BBC

As well as working with police, Henry also helps conservationists with "ecological monitoring", including for pine martens, hedgehogs, otters and water voles.

From BBC

Agatha Christie graciously engaged with a critique involving the word “vole.”

From Los Angeles Times

She became fascinated with the creatures in her garden during the coronavirus lockdowns and started leaving out nuts to attract mice and voles.

From BBC

"So we've taken that idea and scaled it down to water vole size, which means using glitter."

From BBC