13 results for: burrow

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
bur·row    Audio Help   [bur-oh, buhr-oh] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.a hole or tunnel in the ground made by a rabbit, fox, or similar animal for habitation and refuge.
2.a place of retreat; shelter or refuge.
–verb (used without object)
3.to make a hole or passage in, into, or under something.
4.to lodge in a burrow.
5.to hide.
6.to proceed by or as if by digging.
–verb (used with object)
7.to put a burrow into (a hill, mountainside, etc.).
8.to hide (oneself), as in a burrow.
9.to make by or as if by burrowing: We burrowed our way through the crowd.

[Origin: 1325–75; ME borow, earlier burh, appar. gradational var. of late ME beri burrow, var. of earlier berg refuge, OE gebeorg, deriv. of beorgan to protect; akin to OE burgen grave, i.e., place of protection for a body; see bury]

bur·row·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
burrow

To learn more about burrow visit Britannica.com

© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
bur·row    Audio Help   (bûr'ō, bŭr'ō)  Pronunciation Key 


(click for larger image in new window)

n.  
  1. A hole or tunnel dug in the ground by a small animal, such as a rabbit or mole, for habitation or refuge.
  2. A narrow or snug place.

v.   bur·rowed, bur·row·ing, bur·rows

v.   intr.
    1. To dig a hole or tunnel for habitation or refuge.
    2. To live or hide in such a place.
  1. To move or progress by or as if by digging or tunneling: "Suddenly the train is burrowing through the pinewoods" (William Styron).

v.   tr.
  1. To make by or as if by tunneling.
  2. To dig a hole or tunnel in or through.
  3. Archaic To hide in or as if in a burrow.


[Middle English borow.]

bur'row·er n.
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
burrow 
"rabbit-hole, fox-hole, etc.," c.1360, from O.E. burgh "stronghold, fortress" (see borough); influenced by bergh "hill," and berwen "to defend, take refuge." The verb is first attested 1771.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
burrow

noun
1. a hole made by an animal, usually for shelter 

verb
1. move through by or as by digging; "burrow through the forest" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
burrow [ˈbarəu, (American) ˈbə:-] noun
a hole dug for shelter
Example: a rabbit burrow
Arabic: جُحر
Chinese (Simplified): (狐、兔等)地洞
Chinese (Traditional): (狐、兔等)地洞
Czech: doupě, nora, díra
Danish: hule; kaninhule
Dutch: hol
Estonian: urg
Finnish: kolo
French: terrier
German: der Bau
Greek: λαγούμι
Hungarian: (földbe ásott) lyuk
Icelandic: greni, hola, göng
Indonesian: liang
Italian: tana
Japanese:
Korean: 구멍, 굴
Latvian: (dzīvnieka) ala
Lithuanian: urvas, ola
Norwegian: (kanin)hule, (reve)hi
Polish: jama, nora
Portuguese (Brazil): toca
Portuguese (Portugal): toca
Romanian: vizuină
Russian: нора
Slovak: brloh, nora
Slovenian: brlog
Spanish: madriguera
Swedish: håla
Turkish: oyuk
burrow [ˈbarəu, (American) ˈbə:-] verb
to make holes underground or in a similar place for shelter etc; The mole burrows underground; He burrowed under the bedclothes
Arabic: يَحْفُرُ جُحْرا، يَخْتَبِئ
Chinese (Simplified): 打地洞
Chinese (Traditional): 打地洞
Czech: (vy)hrabat si doupě, zahrabat se
Danish: grave sig ned
Dutch: graven, wroeten
Estonian: käike kaevama, kaevuma
Finnish: kaivaa, kaivautua
French: creuser
German: sich verkriechen
Greek: φτιάχνω τρύπες κάτω από τη γη, τρυπώνω, χώνομαι
Hungarian: ás (üreget)
Icelandic: grafa sig
Indonesian: berlindung, bersembunyi
Italian: scavare
Japanese: 穴を掘る
Korean: 구멍을 파다
Latvian: rakt alu; slēpties alā; paslēpties
Lithuanian: raustis
Norwegian: grave seg ned i
Polish: ryć
Portuguese (Brazil): cavar
Portuguese (Portugal): fazer toca
Romanian: a săpa; a se ascunde, a se piti
Russian: зарываться (в норе), прятаться
Slovak: zahrabať sa
Slovenian: (iz)kopati
Spanish: cavar
Swedish: gräva sig fram (ner)
Turkish: oymak, yuva yapmak; saklanmak
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: bur·row
Pronunciation: 'b&r-(")O, 'b&-(")rO
Function: noun
: a passage or gallery formed in or under the skin by the wandering of a parasite (as the mite of scabies or a foreign hookworm) —burrow verb

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Burrow

Bor"ough\, n. [OE. burgh, burw, boru, port, town, burrow, AS. burh, burg; akin to Icel., Sw., & Dan. borg, OS. & D. burg, OHG. puruc, purc, MHG. burc, G. burg, Goth. ba['u]rgs; and from the root of AS. beorgan to hide, save, defend, G. bergen; or perh. from that of AS. beorg hill, mountain. [root]95. See Bury, v. t., and cf. Burrow, Burg, Bury, n., Burgess, Iceberg, Borrow, Harbor, Hauberk.]

1. In England, an incorporated town that is not a city; also, a town that sends members to parliament; in Scotland, a body corporate, consisting of the inhabitants of a certain district, erected by the sovereign, with a certain jurisdiction; in America, an incorporated town or village, as in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. --Burrill. Erskine.

2. The collective body of citizens or inhabitants of a borough; as, the borough voted to lay a tax.

Close borough, or Pocket borough, a borough having the right of sending a member to Parliament, whose nomination is in the hands of a single person.

Rotten borough, a name given to any borough which, at the time of the passage of the Reform Bill of 1832, contained but few voters, yet retained the privilege of sending a member to Parliament.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Burrow

Bur"row\, n. [See 1st Borough.]

1. An incorporated town. See 1st Borough.

2. A shelter; esp. a hole in the ground made by certain animals, as rabbits, for shelter and habitation.

3. (Mining) A heap or heaps of rubbish or refuse.

4. A mound. See 3d Barrow, and Camp, n., 5.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Burrow

Bur"row\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Burrowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Burrowing.]

1. To excavate a hole to lodge in, as in the earth; to lodge in a hole excavated in the earth, as conies or rabbits.

2. To lodge, or take refuge, in any deep or concealed place; to hide.

Sir, this vermin of court reporters, when they are forced into day upon one point, are sure to burrow in another. --Burke.

Burrowing owl (Zo["o]l.), a small owl of the western part of North America (Speotyto cunicularia), which lives in holes, often in company with the prairie dog.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Burrow

Bur"y\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Buried; p. pr. & vb. n. Burying.] [OE. burien, birien, berien, AS. byrgan; akin to beorgan to protect, OHG. bergan, G. bergen, Icel. bjarga, Sw. berga, Dan. bierge, Goth. ba['i]rgan. [root]95. Cf. Burrow.]

1. To cover out of sight, either by heaping something over, or by placing within something, as earth, etc.; to conceal by covering; to hide; as, to bury coals in ashes; to bury the face in the hands.

And all their confidence Under the weight of mountains buried deep. --Milton.

2. Specifically: To cover out of sight, as the body of a deceased person, in a grave, a tomb, or the ocean; to deposit (a corpse) in its resting place, with funeral ceremonies; to inter; to inhume.

Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. --Matt. viii. 21.

I'll bury thee in a triumphant grave. --Shak.

3. To hide in oblivion; to put away finally; to abandon; as, to bury strife.

Give me a bowl of wine In this I bury all unkindness, Cassius. --Shak.

Burying beetle (Zo["o]l.), the general name of many species of beetles, of the tribe Necrophaga; the sexton beetle; -- so called from their habit of burying small dead animals by digging away the earth beneath them. The larv[ae] feed upon decaying flesh, and are useful scavengers.

To bury the hatchet, to lay aside the instruments of war, and make peace; -- a phrase used in allusion to the custom observed by the North American Indians, of burying a tomahawk when they conclude a peace.

Syn: To intomb; inter; inhume; inurn; hide; cover; conceal; overwhelm; repress.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

burrow

Camp\, n. [F. camp, It. campo, fr. L. campus plant, field; akin to Gr. ? garden. Cf. Campaing, Champ, n.]

1. The ground or spot on which tents, huts, etc., are erected for shelter, as for an army or for lumbermen, etc. --Shzk.

2. A collection of tents, huts, etc., for shelter, commonly arranged in an orderly manner.

Forming a camp in the neighborhood of Boston. --W. Irving.

3. A single hut or shelter; as, a hunter's camp.

4. The company or body of persons encamped, as of soldiers, of surveyors, of lumbermen, etc.

The camp broke up with the confusion of a flight. --Macaulay.

5. (Agric.) A mound of earth in which potatoes and other vegetables are stored for protection against frost; -- called also burrow and pie. [Prov. Eng.]

6. [Cf. OE. & AS. camp contest, battle. See champion.] An ancient game of football, played in some parts of England. --Halliwell.

Camp bedstead, a light bedstead that can be folded up onto a small space for easy transportation.

camp ceiling (Arch.), a kind ceiling often used in attics or garrets, in which the side walls are inclined inward at the top, following the slope of the rafters, to meet the plane surface of the upper ceiling.

Camp chair, a light chair that can be folded up compactly for easy transportation; the seat and back are often made of strips or pieces of carpet.

Camp fever, typhus fever.

Camp follower, a civilian accompanying an army, as a sutler, servant, etc.

Camp meeting, a religious gathering for open-air preaching, held in some retired spot, chiefly by Methodists. It usually last for several days, during which those present lodge in tents, temporary houses, or cottages.

Camp stool, the same as camp chair, except that the stool has no back.

Flying camp (Mil.), a camp or body of troops formed for rapid motion from one place to another. --Farrow.

To pitch (a) camp, to set up the tents or huts of a camp.

To strike camp, to take down the tents or huts of a camp.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web

Share This:   Share This: del.icio.us Share This: digg.com Share This: furl.net Share This: www.netscape.com Share This: myweb2.search.yahoo.com Share This: www.stumbleupon.com Share This: www.google.com Share This: www.technorati.com Share This: blinklist.com Share This: newsvine.com Share This: ma.gnolia.com Share This: reddit.com Share This: favorites.live.com Share This: tailrank.com

Perform a new search, or try your search for "burrow" at: