or plural weasel: any of various small slender active carnivorous mammals (genus Mustela of the family Mustelidae, the weasel family) that are able to prey on animals (such as rabbits) larger than themselves, are mostly brown with white or yellowish underparts, and in northern forms turn white in winter compare erminesense 1a
2
: a light self-propelled tracked vehicle built either for traveling over snow, ice, or sand or as an amphibious vehicle
Verb
the polite guest chose to weasel rather than admit that he didn't like the meal
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Noun
But some, including pigeons, weasels, skunks, coyotes and most rodents, are excluded from such rules.—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 15 May 2025 In the heat of its bloodlust, the weasel had killed the entire flock.—Louise Erdrich, New Yorker, 25 May 2025
Verb
One of Wishman’s most Sapphic films is this gritty black-and-white sexploitation shocker about assassins who weasel their way into an apartment shared by two lesbians in order to kill a foreign dignitary.—Erik Piepenburg, New York Times, 2 June 2025 Trying to weasel things by providing additional levels is abhorrent.—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for weasel
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English wesele, from Old English weosule; akin to Old High German wisula weasel
Verb
weasel word
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
or plural weasel: any of various small slender active mammals that are related to the minks, eat small animals (as mice and birds), and in northern regions turn white in winter compare erminesense 1
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