mouse

1 of 2

noun

ˈmau̇s 

plural mice ˈmīs 

1

: any of numerous small rodents (as of the genus Mus) with pointed snout, rather small ears, elongated body, and slender tail

2

plural also mouses : a small mobile manual device that controls movement of the cursor and selection of functions on a computer display

3

: a timid person

4

: a dark-colored swelling caused by a blow

specifically : black eye

mouse

2 of 2

verb

ˈmau̇z 

moused; mousing

intransitive verb

1

: to hunt for mice

2

: to search or move stealthily or slowly

transitive verb

1

: to search for carefully

—usually used with out

2

obsolete

a

: bite, gnaw

b

: to toy with roughly

Phrases

mouse over

computing

: to use a mouse to position a cursor over (a specific location or element on a computer screen) without clicking the mouse's button

Rich media is pretty much anything that moves when you interact with it. It can be a Flash animation, or a streaming video clip, or an image rotator that changes when you mouse over it.

—Ariel Bleicher

Synonyms

Verb

• lurk
• mooch
• pussyfoot
• shirk
• skulk
• slide
• slink
• slip
• snake
• sneak
• steal

Examples of mouse in a Sentence

Noun

The house was infested with mice and rats.

He moved the mouse to click on the icon.

Verb

a cat mousing along in the shadows of the garden

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Tests conducted after the outbreak found that an amino acid in the flour caused liver damage in mice. —Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2024

Research from 2014 showed that bedbugs were capable of spreading to mice the pathogen that causes Chagas disease. —Kristen V. Brown, The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2024

Verb

The click-through rate, industry-wide, is less than 1 percent—and chalk some of that up to mouse error and click fraud. —IEEE Spectrum, 31 May 2011

There’s no more wasting time mousing all over the screen just to adjust the size of a brush or to set a different value. —Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English mūs; akin to Old High German mūs mouse, Latin mus, Greek mys mouse, muscle

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing mouse

• as quiet as a mouse
• cat and mouse
• deer mouse
• field mouse
• hazel mouse
• house mouse
• jumping mouse
• mouse-ear
• mouse-ear chickweed
• mouse mat
• mouse over
• mouse pad
• mouse potato
• play (a game of) cat and mouse
• pocket mouse
• sea mouse
• white-footed mouse

Kids Definition

mouse

1 of 2 noun

ˈmau̇s 

plural mice ˈmīs 

1

: any of numerous small rodents with pointed snout, rather small ears, and a slender usually nearly hairless tail

2

: a person without spirit or courage

3

: a small hand-operated device used for computer input (as to control cursor movement on the display screen)

mouse

2 of 2 verb

ˈmau̇z 

moused; mousing

1

: to hunt mice

2

: to search or move slyly and carefully (as a cat hunting mice)

3

: to search for carefully

mouse out a scandal

Medical Definition

mouse

noun

ˈmau̇s 

plural mice ˈmīs 

1

: any of numerous small rodents with pointed snout, rather small ears, elongated body, and slender hairless or sparsely haired tail, including all the smaller members of the genus Mus (as the medically significant house mouse, M. musculus) and many members of other rodent genera and families having little more in common than their relatively small size

2

: a dark-colored swelling caused by a blow

specifically : black eye