pocket mouse

noun

1. any of numerous burrowing rodents, especially of the genus Perognathus, chiefly inhabiting arid regions of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, having fur-lined cheek pouches and a long tail.

pocket mouse

noun

1. any small mouselike rodent with cheek pouches, of the genus Perognathus, of desert regions of W North America: family Heteromyidae

Word History and Origins

Origin of pocket mouse¹

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Example Sentences

Pat is a Pacific pocket mouse, which is the smallest kind of mouse in North America.

From NewsForKids.net

At nine years and 209 days old, the Pacific pocket mouse named Pat pocketed the Guinness World Record on Wednesday, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance announced.

From BBC

The desert pocket mouse, for example, can live without water for months, in part because of the extreme extent to which its kidneys can concentrate urine.

From Scientific American

Along the Californian coast, he trapped pocket mice and watched condors soar; in the Mojave Desert, his team chronicled American kestrels swooping for insects and caught cactus mice hiding among rocks.

From Science Magazine

I looked down, searching for endangered Pacific pocket mice, before my eye caught something much larger in the waves: a whale spout.

From Washington Post