squirrel

1 of 2

noun

squir·​rel ˈskwər(-ə)l 

ˈskwə-rəl,

 chiefly British  ˈskwir-əl

plural squirrels also squirrel

1

: any of various small or medium-sized rodents (family Sciuridae, the squirrel family): such as

a

: any of numerous New or Old World arboreal forms having a long bushy tail and strong hind legs

b

: ground squirrel

2

: the fur of a squirrel

squirrel

2 of 2

verb

squirreled or squirrelled; squirreling or squirrelling

transitive verb

: to store up for future use

—often used with away

squirrel away some money

Synonyms

Verb

• cache
• hoard
• lay away
• lay by
• lay in
• lay up
• put by
• salt away
• stash
• stockpile
• store
• stow
• treasure

Examples of squirrel in a Sentence

Verb

squirreled the information away for future reference

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In addition, a person involved with the investigation was bitten by the squirrel. —Emma Marsden, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024

The late-night show then cut to a clip of vice presidential candidate JD Vance bringing up Peanut the squirrel’s death. —Michaela Zee, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024

Verb

Every squirrel has a science story to tell, but, sadly, squirrels vastly outnumber squirrel scientists. —Scistarter Team, Discover Magazine, 21 Jan. 2024

Freelancers, aware of this, try to squirrel some of their fees away throughout the year to see them through to March, when productions start crewing up again. —K.j. Yossman, Variety, 25 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English squirel, from Anglo-French escurel, esquirel, from Vulgar Latin *scuriolus, diminutive of scurius, alteration of Latin *sciurus, from Greek skiouros, probably from skia shadow + oura tail — more at shine, ass

Verb

from the squirrel's habit of storing up gathered nuts and seeds for winter use

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1925, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing squirrel

• flying squirrel
• gray squirrel
• ground squirrel
• red squirrel
• squirrel away
• squirrel cage
• squirrel corn
• squirrel monkey
• squirrel rifle

Kids Definition

squirrel

1 of 2 noun

squir·​rel ˈskwər(-ə)l 

ˈskwə-rəl

plural squirrels also squirrel

1

: any of various small or medium-sized rodents

especially : one with a long bushy tail and strong hind legs used especially for leaping from tree branch to tree branch

2

: the fur of a squirrel

squirrel

2 of 2 verb

squirreled or squirrelled; squirreling or squirrelling

: to store up for future use

—often used with away

squirreled away all his spare change

Etymology

Noun

Middle English squirel "squirrel," from early French esquirel (same meaning), derived from Latin sciurus (same meaning), from Greek skiouros "squirrel," from skia "shadow" and oura "tail"

Word Origin

When a squirrel sits up to eat or to look around, it often raises its bushy tail up against its back and over its head as if to shade itself. The ancient Greeks noticed this habit, and they called the animal skiouros. This word was made up of skia, meaning "shadow," and oura, "tail." The Romans turned this into the Latin word sciurus, which made its way into early French as esquirel. English squirrel was borrowed from the French.