Illustration of weasel
- weasel 1
plural weasels
1
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 ermine sense 1a
2
: a light self-propelled tracked vehicle built either for traveling over snow, ice, or sand or as an amphibious vehicle
3
: a sneaky, untrustworthy, or insincere person
weaseled; weaseling
ˈwēz-liŋ 
ˈwē-zə-
1
: to use weasel words : equivocate
2
: to escape from or evade a situation or obligation
—often used with out
: to manipulate shiftily
Examples of weasel in a Sentence
Verb
the polite guest chose to weasel rather than admit that he didn't like the meal
Recent Examples on the Web
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
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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Weasel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weasel. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.
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