woodchuck
Americannoun
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woodchucks
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of woodchuck
First recorded in 1665–75, presumably a reshaping by folk etymology of a word in a Southern New England Algonquian language; compare Narragansett ( English spelling) ockqutchaun “woodchuck”
Compare meaning
How does woodchuck compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Woodchuck is another name for a groundhog, the chubby rodent commonly found in North America. Some gardeners consider woodchucks to be pests, but they help keep the soil healthy by burrowing. After groundhog, woodchuck is the most common name for this furry marmot, officially classified as a ground squirrel. Woodchucks have round bodies, short tails, and long teeth, and their underground digging annoys people who love their perfect lawns. All that burrowing is actually helpful, exposing compacted soil to oxygen and bringing nutrients to plant roots, making woodchucks garden heroes. The name comes from the Cree otchek, which describes a different mammal, the weasel-like marten.
Vocabulary lists containing woodchuck
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.
See Examples For:
Burroughs wore a coat made from woodchuck pelts.
From Seattle Times ● May 10, 2022
And by engineering the receptor into mice and monkeys, researchers are developing new animal models for HBV that, unlike the woodchuck, are vulnerable to the exact virus that infects humans.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 29, 2018
Tim McIntyre: Thirty-three years ago, I was a junior woodchuck at Domino’s: an editor in the communication department.
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2018
He estimated there are hundreds of woodchuck crews in the Washington region, some with as many as 15 members, and that crews are aggressive in their targeting.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 22, 2017
Although bellowing that Beetle was stupid as a woodchuck and clumsy as a donkey in a dress, the midwife allowed the girl to help her into the cottage and onto her straw bed.
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
These furry rodents, also called woodchucks, are in the squirrel family.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 30, 2023
Groundhogs – also known as woodchucks – are one of the Keystone State’s "most widely distributed mammals," according to the Penn State Extension College of Agricultural Sciences.
From Fox News ● Feb. 1, 2022
They roam the state, and by consuming mice, woodchucks and other rodents do far more good than harm.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 1, 2019
The owner, James Whipple, both traps pregnant females in the wild and breeds woodchucks in the colony.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 29, 2018
Back in the meadow he had listened to bullfrogs, and woodchucks, and rabbits, even a few snakes, but he had never heard anyone speak like Tucker Mouse.
From "The Cricket in Times Square" by George Selden
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
