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
moused; mousing
1
: to search for carefully
—usually used with out
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
Ariel BleicherSynonyms
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 WebUSA TODAY, 29 Apr. 2024
This is an absolute steal on an ergonomic and good-looking wired gaming mouse for 32% off the retail price.
—K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 26 Apr. 2024
Research has found that exposing mice to isocyanates and xylene can directly cause eczema, itch and inflammation by increasing the activity of receptors involved in itch, pain and temperature sensation.
—Ian Myles, Discover Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
Most striking was a study Dr. Nelson published in 2010 on mice that were genetically diverse.
—Dana G. Smith Dana G. Smith, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2024
After Simon’s pet mice go missing, Jared discovers a boggart named Thimbletack (Jack Dylan Grazer) is wreaking havoc on the house.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 19 Apr. 2024
Wasow himself had taught Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King how to surf the Net on national television (after learning how to use a mouse, the women responded on air to emails from Diane Sawyer, Hillary Clinton, and Bill Gates).
—Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024
Last year, his team produced oocytes using cells from male mice, resulting in pups born to two biological fathers.
—Shinya Yamanaka, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
The snakes are typically shy around bigger animals and instead feed on mice and other rodents.
—Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 15 Apr. 2024
Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
The only Nobel Prize for strictly mouse genetics was presented during this period.
—William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
For now, voters mousing over to rival campaign websites won’t see nearly as many policy positions to contrast with those of the former President.
—Time, 12 June 2023
Researchers sifted through more than 13,000 potential candidate molecules to find one, called 6bK, that bound to mouse IDE in a test tube.
—Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 21 May 2014
Anand Agarawala, co-founder and CEO of Spatial, which makes an app where brands and artists can build virtual spaces, said eye-tracking in VR is similar to mouse movements on a desktop, which many companies already collect and use for advertising purposes.
—Washington Post, 15 July 2021
Multi Control allows users who own a Galaxy Book to use its keyboard, trackpad, or mouse with a Galaxy phone without physically connecting the two devices.
—Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 15 Feb. 2023
The researchers identified several human and mouse microRNAs that seem to create an unfavorable physiological environment for viruses.
—Valerie Ross, Discover Magazine, 3 Feb. 2011
Then, a decade ago, Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka identified a cocktail of genes that, when added to mouse skin cells, transformed them into a new kind of cell that grew happily in ever expanding colonies.
—Kim Smuga-Otto, Discover Magazine, 24 Oct. 2016
Noun
Research on mice led Canadian scientists to publish a study in 2022 that raised the possibility that humans could contract chronic wasting disease.
—USA TODAY, 29 Apr. 2024
This is an absolute steal on an ergonomic and good-looking wired gaming mouse for 32% off the retail price.
—K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 26 Apr. 2024
Research has found that exposing mice to isocyanates and xylene can directly cause eczema, itch and inflammation by increasing the activity of receptors involved in itch, pain and temperature sensation.
—Ian Myles, Discover Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
Most striking was a study Dr. Nelson published in 2010 on mice that were genetically diverse.
—Dana G. Smith Dana G. Smith, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2024
After Simon’s pet mice go missing, Jared discovers a boggart named Thimbletack (Jack Dylan Grazer) is wreaking havoc on the house.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 19 Apr. 2024
Wasow himself had taught Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King how to surf the Net on national television (after learning how to use a mouse, the women responded on air to emails from Diane Sawyer, Hillary Clinton, and Bill Gates).
—Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024
Last year, his team produced oocytes using cells from male mice, resulting in pups born to two biological fathers.
—Shinya Yamanaka, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
The snakes are typically shy around bigger animals and instead feed on mice and other rodents.
—Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 15 Apr. 2024
Verb
With Signature Slim Combo, IT teams can mass deploy a single keyboard and mouse across an entire global workforce while keeping an eye on all the devices remotely using Logitech Sync to update the firmware.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
The only Nobel Prize for strictly mouse genetics was presented during this period.
—William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
For now, voters mousing over to rival campaign websites won’t see nearly as many policy positions to contrast with those of the former President.
—Time, 12 June 2023
Researchers sifted through more than 13,000 potential candidate molecules to find one, called 6bK, that bound to mouse IDE in a test tube.
—Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 21 May 2014
Anand Agarawala, co-founder and CEO of Spatial, which makes an app where brands and artists can build virtual spaces, said eye-tracking in VR is similar to mouse movements on a desktop, which many companies already collect and use for advertising purposes.
—Washington Post, 15 July 2021
Multi Control allows users who own a Galaxy Book to use its keyboard, trackpad, or mouse with a Galaxy phone without physically connecting the two devices.
—Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 15 Feb. 2023
The researchers identified several human and mouse microRNAs that seem to create an unfavorable physiological environment for viruses.
—Valerie Ross, Discover Magazine, 3 Feb. 2011
Then, a decade ago, Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka identified a cocktail of genes that, when added to mouse skin cells, transformed them into a new kind of cell that grew happily in ever expanding colonies.
—Kim Smuga-Otto, Discover Magazine, 24 Oct. 2016
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mouse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Mouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mouse. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mouse
1 of 2 noun
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
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
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
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