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
2
: the fur of a squirrel
squirreled or squirrelled; squirreling or squirrelling
: to store up for future use
—often used with away
squirrel away some money
Synonyms
Examples of squirrel in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2024
Harmon was upstairs, putting food in a squirrel feeder, while her children were in the backyard.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
The group is seeking data on pets or animals outside including squirrels, birds, coyotes, lizards and insects.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Mar. 2024
The squirrels do their own repairs, and scrounge eBay for replacement parts on the newer units.
—Saahil Desai, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2024
Potash says people should feel lucky to be surrounded by squirrels.
—Kate Morgan, Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2024
The department also asks people to avoid contact with rodents and refrain from feeding squirrels or chipmunks.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 9 Feb. 2024
And by the way, the deer, mice, squirrels and just about everyone else running around the garden in winter leave these guys alone.
—Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 2 Feb. 2024
The camera provides a view of at least four feeders, bowls of food, a bird bath and even miniature picnic tables and benches for songbirds and squirrels.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Apr. 2024
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
When news of a young boy being abducted from Brooklyn starts to make the rounds on the news, Inez squirrels the boy away in a rented room and gets him some fake papers.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Mar. 2023
Many were able to squirrel away more during the pandemic when shops, hospitality and entertainment venues were closed.
—Tom Rees, Bloomberg.com, 11 Feb. 2023
The student loan moratorium put in place in March 2020 has had a number of benefits: Many federal student loan borrowers were able to squirrel away more savings, pay down other forms of debt, make on-time payment for monthly bills, and some even saw a boost in their credit scores.
—Megan Leonhardt, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2022
Essentially, boosting margins allows companies to squirrel away more capital.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 16 Jan. 2023
More than 35,000 people have helped observe and classify squirrel coat color with SquirrelMapper.
—Brielle Fischman, Discover Magazine, 9 Feb. 2021
For others, income may not keep pace with rising costs, leaving them less to squirrel away.
—Tara Siegel Bernard, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2022
Noun
Chatty squirrels chitter away in the branches above our heads.
—Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2024
Harmon was upstairs, putting food in a squirrel feeder, while her children were in the backyard.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
The group is seeking data on pets or animals outside including squirrels, birds, coyotes, lizards and insects.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Mar. 2024
The squirrels do their own repairs, and scrounge eBay for replacement parts on the newer units.
—Saahil Desai, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2024
Potash says people should feel lucky to be surrounded by squirrels.
—Kate Morgan, Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2024
The department also asks people to avoid contact with rodents and refrain from feeding squirrels or chipmunks.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 9 Feb. 2024
And by the way, the deer, mice, squirrels and just about everyone else running around the garden in winter leave these guys alone.
—Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 2 Feb. 2024
The camera provides a view of at least four feeders, bowls of food, a bird bath and even miniature picnic tables and benches for songbirds and squirrels.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Apr. 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
When news of a young boy being abducted from Brooklyn starts to make the rounds on the news, Inez squirrels the boy away in a rented room and gets him some fake papers.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Mar. 2023
Many were able to squirrel away more during the pandemic when shops, hospitality and entertainment venues were closed.
—Tom Rees, Bloomberg.com, 11 Feb. 2023
The student loan moratorium put in place in March 2020 has had a number of benefits: Many federal student loan borrowers were able to squirrel away more savings, pay down other forms of debt, make on-time payment for monthly bills, and some even saw a boost in their credit scores.
—Megan Leonhardt, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2022
Essentially, boosting margins allows companies to squirrel away more capital.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 16 Jan. 2023
More than 35,000 people have helped observe and classify squirrel coat color with SquirrelMapper.
—Brielle Fischman, Discover Magazine, 9 Feb. 2021
For others, income may not keep pace with rising costs, leaving them less to squirrel away.
—Tara Siegel Bernard, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'squirrel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near squirrel
Cite this Entry
“Squirrel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squirrel. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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.
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