tree shrew

noun

: any of a family (Tupaiidae of the order Scandentia) of small southeast Asian mammals that resemble squirrels, are of semiarboreal or terrestrial habit, feed chiefly on insects and fruit, and are sometimes classified as true insectivores or primitive primates

Illustration of tree shrew

Examples of tree shrew in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

According to the Lincoln Park Zoo, northern tree shrews are most closely related to primates and have no relation to actual shrews other than a coincidental resemblance to them. —Rhiannon Saegert, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2025

The team says, however, that part of their next steps will be to develop mobile goggles that can ride along on the heads of larger rodents like rats or tree shrews. —Michael Franco, New Atlas, 29 Dec. 2024

But evolution is also the culprit for the tree shrew's remarkable insensitivity to capsaicin. —Amiah Taylor, Discover Magazine, 13 Nov. 2024

Fruit flies, tree shrews and many other animals naturally consume alcohol in fruits that ferment; this happens when yeast or certain bacteria are around to break down sugars in ripe fruit, creating small amounts of ethanol. —Rachel Berkowitz, Scientific American, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1893, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tree shrew

• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup
• bijou