woodchuck

[ wood-chuhk ]

noun
  1. a stocky North American burrowing rodent, Marmota monax, that hibernates in the winter.

Compare Meanings

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

Origin of woodchuck

1
First recorded in 1665–75, Americanism; presumably a reshaping by folk etymology of a word in a Southern New England Algonquian language; compare Narragansett (English spelling) ockqutchaun “woodchuck”

Words Nearby woodchuck

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use woodchuck in a sentence

  • And saying a hasty good afternoon, he popped through his doorway and vanished at Billy woodchuck's feet.

    The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott Bailey
  • There was only one reason why Billy woodchuck didn't exactly care to dig a new home for himself in the pasture just then.

    The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott Bailey
  • Billy woodchuck exclaimed, for he had heard somewhere that if you want a thing done, you should get a busy person to do it.

    The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott Bailey
  • And he had already turned away, as if the business were ended, when Billy woodchuck stopped him again.

    The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott Bailey
  • Billy woodchuck soon saw that Grandfather Mole was a stubborn old fellow.

    The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott Bailey

British Dictionary definitions for woodchuck

woodchuck

/ (ˈwʊdˌtʃʌk) /


noun
  1. a North American marmot, Marmota monax, having coarse reddish-brown fur: Also called: groundhog

Origin of woodchuck

1
C17: by folk etymology from Cree otcheck fisher, marten

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