burrow

1 of 2

noun

bur·​row ˈbər-(ˌ)ō How to pronounce burrow (audio)
ˈbə-(ˌ)rō
: a hole or excavation in the ground made by an animal (such as a rabbit) for shelter and habitation

burrow

2 of 2

verb

burrowed; burrowing; burrows

intransitive verb

1
a
: to make a burrow
A fox had burrowed into the side of the hill.
b
: to progress by or as if by digging
burrowing through a pile of paperwork
2
: to make a motion suggestive of burrowing : snuggle, nestle
burrowed against his back for warmth
3
: to conceal oneself in or as if in a burrow

transitive verb

1
a
: to penetrate by means of a burrow
The tunnel burrows its way under the mountain.
b
: to construct by tunneling
burrowed a dwelling
2
: to make a motion suggestive of burrowing with : nestle
burrows her hand into mine
3
archaic : to hide in or as if in a hole in the ground made by an animal for shelter and habitation : to hide in or as if in a burrow
was burrowed in his cave
burrower noun

Examples of burrow in a Sentence

Noun the chipmunk retreated to its burrow to have its babies Verb The rabbit burrowed into the side of the hill. The frogs burrow under the mud. The mole burrowed its way under the ground.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The Staten Island Zoo groundhog, who is referred to formally as Charles G. Hogg, emerge from his burrow at Staten Island Zoo on Friday to make his prediction. Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 2 Feb. 2024 In the wild, ball pythons are nocturnal and live mostly underground, often in burrows taken over from rodent prey. Rebecca Giggs, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 Another sign that points to the mussels living permanently in protective burrows is their extreme fragility. Veronique Greenwood, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2024 Had Phil rose from his burrow and not seen his shadow, that would indicate there were still be an extra six weeks of winter weather. David Chiu, Peoplemag, 2 Feb. 2024 Similarly, the Arctic ground squirrel hibernates in deep burrows for around eight months of the year. Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023 As a result, the weather dried out the soil where crawfish burrow to lay eggs. Sara Cline, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024 The Arizona hairy scorpion, which can be found in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of Mexico and the southwestern United States, dig elaborate burrows (up to 8 feet deep), coming out at night to hunt insects, spiders and small vertebrates. Scott Travers, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Soon enough, a four-legged friend of ours will emerge from his burrow, dictating exactly that. Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 29 Jan. 2024
Verb
Only this past year, many crawfish were killed off by the heat or were forced to burrow deeper to survive, farmers and experts said. Rick Rojas Emily Kask, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024 However, severe drought and extreme heat in 2023 made the ground too dry for crawfish to burrow and lay eggs. Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 7 Mar. 2024 But this species, which was adapted to burrow, fed on hearty and abundant underground resources, and was smaller than many dinosaur species, still died out with the Age of Dinosaurs. Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024 Innovation is not enough to root out and destroy an enemy that has spent almost two decades burrowing in and under dense urban areas. Shashank Joshi, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 Chinese hackers have been trying to burrow into American transportation and infrastructure networks in stealthy ways—and AI has helped US intelligence investigators track these attacks. Samanth Subramanian, Quartz, 17 Feb. 2024 Rather than hanging out mid-air between tree trunks or branches, tarantulas are burrowing species. Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024 The Ukrainian soldiers burrow into their musty underground bunker, waiting at dawn for target coordinates to fire their 105 mm artillery gun. Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Feb. 2024 The planning and burrowing Detailed conceptual treatments of the gargantuan FCC date back to at least 2014. IEEE Spectrum, 17 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'burrow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English borow

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1596, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of burrow was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near burrow

Cite this Entry

“Burrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burrow. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

burrow

1 of 2 noun
bur·​row ˈbər-ō How to pronounce burrow (audio)
ˈbə-rō
: a hole in the ground made by an animal (as a rabbit or fox) for shelter or protection

burrow

2 of 2 verb
1
: to construct by tunneling
2
: to hide oneself in or as if in a burrow
3
: to move or enter by or as if by digging
burrower noun

Medical Definition

burrow

noun
: a passage or gallery formed in or under the skin by the wandering of a parasite (as the mite of scabies or a foreign hookworm)
burrow verb

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