water vole

British

noun

Also called: water rat. a large amphibious vole, Arvicola terrestris, of Eurasian river banks: family Cricetidae

"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.

England's fastest-declining mammal, the water vole, is among thousands of species set to benefit from a £25m scheme to restore "critical" habitats.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2024

The drainage pipe seemed the perfect vole-sized hole, but it took the photographer many days camped on the opposite side of the canal before he saw a water vole that thought the same.

From The Guardian • May 27, 2019

It said the hedgehog and water vole have seen their populations decline by almost 70% over the past 20 years.

From BBC • Jun. 12, 2018

The most poignant moment of this episode was the split second we saw Molesley in his white gloves scurrying down the corridor like a water vole: “Coming, Mr Carson!”

From The Guardian • Oct. 19, 2014

Really they are as easy as the water vole or skunk with me.

From Mink Trapping A Book of Instruction Giving Many Methods of Trapping—A Valuable Book for Trappers. by Harding, A. R. (Arthur Robert)

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