weasel
any small carnivore of the genus Mustela, of the family Mustelidae, having a long, slender body and feeding chiefly on small rodents.
any of various similar animals of the family Mustelidae.
a cunning, sneaky person.
a tracked vehicle resembling a tractor, used in snow.
Slang. an informer; stool pigeon.
to evade an obligation, duty, or the like; renege (often followed by out): That's one invitation I'd like to weasel out of.
to use weasel words; be ambiguous; mislead: Upon cross-examination the witness began to weasel.
Slang. to inform.
Origin of weasel
1Words Nearby weasel
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use weasel in a sentence
Some listeners may recall that in 2016, the Large Hadron Collider, which is a big ol’ particle collider in Switzerland, shut down because of a weasel.
Death ‘by planet’ was surprisingly common in the 1600s | PopSci Staff | November 24, 2021 | Popular-ScienceNote the weasel words (a term they do actually teach in law school): “affected community.”
Facebook Apologizes For, but Doesn’t Retract, Discriminatory ‘Real Name’ Policy | Jay Michaelson | October 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn the usual weasel language: more observations were needed.
His mean face slowly resolved into a baffled, respectful expression, like that of a weasel facing a trap.
‘The Land of the Permanent Wave’ Is Bud Shrake’s Classic Take on ‘60s Texas | Edwin Shrake | February 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Gold weasel Medal goes to Marco Rubio, as others such as Tim Noah have noted.
Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Their Craven and Brazen Hypocrisy on Syria | Michael Tomasky | September 9, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
I think the American people would like to hear Romney weasel around that one.
One Thing About the Debate I Forgot in that Previous Piece | Michael Tomasky | October 22, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTCourage, that a poor private carrying a musket has to spare of; that does not fail a weasel or a rat; that is a brutish faculty?
The Pocket R.L.S. | Robert Louis StevensonThey have both been sometimes confounded with the weasel of Virginia, the genet, the musk-deer, and even with the hyna.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de BuffonHe is called the weasel armadillo, because his head is nearly of the same form as a weasel.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de BuffonThen the father recollected his perjured vow, and his witnesses, the weasel and the well.
"They are following our people toward the lodges of the Ogalalas," Painted weasel told him.
Three Sioux Scouts | Elmer Russell Gregor
British Dictionary definitions for weasel
/ (ˈwiːzəl) /
any of various small predatory musteline mammals of the genus Mustela and related genera, esp M. nivalis (European weasel), having reddish-brown fur, an elongated body and neck, and short legs
informal a sly or treacherous person
mainly US a motor vehicle for use in snow, esp one with caterpillar tracks
Origin of weasel
1Derived forms of weasel
- weaselly, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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