mouse
Pronunciation: (n.mousv.mouz), [key]
— n., pl. v., mice moused, mous•ing.
—n.
- any of numerous small Old World rodents of the family Muridae, esp. of the genus Mus, introduced widely in other parts of the world.
- any similar small animal of various rodent and marsupial families.
- a quiet, timid person.
- a palm-sized, button-operated device that can be slid on wheels or ball bearings over a desktop to move the cursor on a CRT to any position, or slid over a drawing in order to recreate the drawing on a CRT. Cf.(def. 2).
- a swelling under the eye, caused by a blow or blows; black eye.
- a girl or woman.
—v.t.
- to hunt out, as a cat hunts out mice.
- to secure with a mousing.
—v.i.
- to hunt for or catch mice.
- to prowl about, as if in search of something: The burglar moused about for valuables.
- to seek or search stealthily or watchfully, as if for prey.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.