: a hole or excavation in the ground made by an animal (such as a rabbit) for shelter and habitation
burrowed; burrowing; burrows
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
3
: to conceal oneself in or as if in a burrow
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
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
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
However, when predators threaten their burrows, numbats can block the entrance with their rumps.
—Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024
The soil where crawfish burrow to lay eggs dried out leading to a dismal harvest this season.
—Sara Cline, Quartz, 22 Mar. 2024
The owls will be given food and monitored closely over the next month using cameras installed in the burrows.
—Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2024
Groundhogs are known to destroy gardens, pastures, and agricultural crops, while their burrows have been known to injure livestock and damage farm equipment and building foundations.
—USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2024
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
Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2024
To take one literal step at a time means seeing what's burrowing in the cracks, noticing the moss and mildew that's accumulated.
—Lauren Depino, NPR, 28 Mar. 2024
Holes are also burrowed for viewers to peek into the gallery wall, suggesting art as a living organism and providing a weird element in an exhibition that is largely lacking in weirdness.
—Martha Schwendener, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
This will step beyond browsers and task bars and will burrow into our messaging, mapping, email and productivity apps.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
The gear included snow shoes because another of the island’s birds, the Bonin petrel, burrows deep tunnels into the ground to nest.
—Erika I. Ritchie, Orange County Register, 5 Feb. 2024
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
Noun
Share [Findings] Humboldt penguins who nest in the open have more pollutant metabolites in their blood than do penguins who nest in guano-rich burrows.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
However, when predators threaten their burrows, numbats can block the entrance with their rumps.
—Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024
The soil where crawfish burrow to lay eggs dried out leading to a dismal harvest this season.
—Sara Cline, Quartz, 22 Mar. 2024
The owls will be given food and monitored closely over the next month using cameras installed in the burrows.
—Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2024
Groundhogs are known to destroy gardens, pastures, and agricultural crops, while their burrows have been known to injure livestock and damage farm equipment and building foundations.
—USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2024
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
Verb
It’s burrowed within the trees, immediately giving you that Rocky Mountain atmosphere.
—Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2024
To take one literal step at a time means seeing what's burrowing in the cracks, noticing the moss and mildew that's accumulated.
—Lauren Depino, NPR, 28 Mar. 2024
Holes are also burrowed for viewers to peek into the gallery wall, suggesting art as a living organism and providing a weird element in an exhibition that is largely lacking in weirdness.
—Martha Schwendener, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
This will step beyond browsers and task bars and will burrow into our messaging, mapping, email and productivity apps.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
The gear included snow shoes because another of the island’s birds, the Bonin petrel, burrows deep tunnels into the ground to nest.
—Erika I. Ritchie, Orange County Register, 5 Feb. 2024
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
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Burrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burrow. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
burrow
1 of 2 noun
bur·row
ˈbər-ō 
ˈbə-rō
: a hole in the ground made by an animal (as a rabbit or fox) for shelter or protection
burrow
2 of 2 verb1
: 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
bur·row
ˈbər-(ˌ)ō, ˈbə-(ˌ)rō
: 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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