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weasel

[wee-zuh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR weasel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural wea·sels, (especially collectively) wea·sel.

any small carnivore of the genus Mustela, of the family Mustelidae, having a long, slender body and feeding chiefly on small rodents.

any of various similar animals of the family Mustelidae.

a cunning, sneaky person.

a tracked vehicle resembling a tractor, used in snow.

Slang. an informer; stool pigeon.

verb (used without object)

to evade an obligation, duty, or the like; renege (often followed by out): That's one invitation I'd like to weasel out of.

to use weasel words; be ambiguous; mislead: Upon cross-examination the witness began to weasel.

Slang. to inform.

Origin of weasel

before 900; 1920–25 for def 6; Middle English wesele, Old English wesle, weosule; cognate with Old High German wisula, German Wiesel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for weasel out

annul, revoke, backtrack, repudiate, contradict, renounce, disavow, renege, retract, disown, rescind, cancel, surrender, default, reverse, invalidate, void, dismantle, abolish, nullify

British Dictionary definitions for weasel out

weasel out

verb -sels, -selling or -selled or US -seling or -seled (intr, adverb) informal

to go back on a commitment

to evade a responsibility, esp in a despicable manner

weasel

noun plural -sels or -sel

any of various small predatory musteline mammals of the genus Mustela and related genera, esp M. nivalis (European weasel), having reddish-brown fur, an elongated body and neck, and short legs

informal a sly or treacherous person

mainly US a motor vehicle for use in snow, esp one with caterpillar tracks

Derived Formsweaselly, adjective

Word Origin for weasel

Old English weosule, wesle; related to Old Norse visla, Old High German wisula, Middle Dutch wesel

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

Word Origin and History for weasel out

weasel

v.

"to deprive (a word or phrase) of its meaning," 1900, from weasel (n.); so used because the weasel sucks out the contents of eggs, leaving the shell intact; the sense of "extricate oneself (from a difficult place) like a weasel" is first recorded 1925; that of "to evade and equivocate" is from 1956.

weasel

n.

Old English weosule, wesle "weasel," from Proto-Germanic *wisulon (cf. Old Norse visla, Middle Dutch wesel, Dutch wezel, Old High German wisula, German Wiesel), probably related to Proto-Germanic *wisand- "bison" (see bison), with a base sense of "stinking animal," because both animals have a foul, musky smell (cf. Latin vissio "stench"). A John Wesilheued ("John Weaselhead") turns up on the Lincolnshire Assize Rolls for 1384, but the name seems not to have endured, for some reason.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with weasel out

weasel out

Back out of a situation or commitment, especially in a sneaky way. For example, I'd love to weasel out of serving on the board. This expression alludes to the stealthy hunting and nesting habits of the weasel, a small, slender-bodied predator. [Colloquial; mid-1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.