white-footed mouse

noun

white-foot·​ed mouse ˈ(h)wīt-ˌfu̇-təd- 

: any of various largely nocturnal mice (genus Peromyscus) of North and Central America typically having whitish feet and underparts

especially : a common woodland mouse (P. leucopus) of North America

Illustration of white-footed mouse

Examples of white-footed mouse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The best predictor of how many ticks are likely to be around each year is how many white-footed mice were present the previous summer, Ostfeld told CNN. — Meg Tirrell, CNN Money, 14 July 2026

For Lyme disease, deer feed the adult ticks that carry the bacterium but do not transmit it themselves; the spirochete is maintained by small mammals and birds, especially white-footed mice. — John Drake, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026

Hantavirus is an infectious disease that's normally spread through contact with rodents such as deer mice, cotton rats, rice rats and the white-footed mouse. — Gina Kalsi, PEOPLE, 22 June 2026

The virus is primarily carried by wild rodents, such as deer mice and white-footed mice. — Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 18 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for white-footed mouse

• alehouse
• almshouse
• backhouse
• baghouse
• bakehouse
• bathhouse
• bauhaus
• blockhouse
• boathouse
• brewhouse
• bunkhouse
• clubhouse

Medical Definition

white-footed mouse

noun

white-foot·​ed mouse ˌ(h)wīt-ˌfu̇t-əd- 

: a common woodland mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) that has whitish feet and underparts and that is a reservoir for the spirochete of the genus Borrelia (B. burgdorferi) causing Lyme disease