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woodchuck

[ wood-chuhk ]
/ ˈwʊdˌtʃʌk /

noun

a stocky North American burrowing rodent, Marmota monax, that hibernates in the winter.

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Also called chuck, groundhog .

Origin of woodchuck

First recorded in 1665–75, Americanism; presumably a reshaping by folk etymology of a word in a Southern New England Algonquian language; compare Narragansett (English spelling) ockqutchaun “woodchuck”

Words nearby woodchuck

woodchat, woodchip, woodchipper, woodchop, woodchopper, woodchuck, wood coal, woodcock, woodcraft, woodcrafter, woodcraftsman
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for woodchuck

British Dictionary definitions for woodchuck

woodchuck
/ (ˈwʊdˌtʃʌk) /

noun

a North American marmot, Marmota monax, having coarse reddish-brown furAlso called: groundhog

Word Origin for woodchuck

C17: by folk etymology from Cree otcheck fisher, marten
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