water shrew

British

noun

either of two small amphibious shrews, Neomys fodiens ( European water shrew ) or N. anomalus ( Mediterranean water shrew ), having a dark pelage with paler underparts

"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

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.

Biologists have uncovered the genetic secrets of the world's smallest diving mammals - water shrews.

From BBC

Because of its unique geography, the province of British Columbia has the highest concentration of endemic species, such as the Vancouver Island marmot and water shrew.

From The Guardian

It is not known how the water shrew - with a trauma injury on its back possibly caused by a mouse trap - came to be in the curry.

From BBC

By comparing them with short-tailed shrews, the team found that water shrews do have relatively greater oxygen stores but Dr Campbell described them as "pushing the boundary of size for divers".

From BBC

They studied wood, harvest, yellow-necked and house mice; field, bank and water voles; brown rats; hazel dormice and one non-rodent - the water shrew.

From BBC

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