rodent

/ˈroʊdnt/

/ˈrʌʊdɪnt/

Other forms: rodents

A rodent is any of an order of (usually) small, furry, gnawing mammals whose two pairs of front teeth — one pair in the upper jaw, and one in the lower — never stop growing. Mice, rats, and squirrels are rodents, and so are larger mammals like beavers, porcupines, and capybaras.

The term rodent sometimes has a negative connotation, as people associate some rodents, especially mice and rats, with carrying diseases or being pests. But many people keep rodents, such as gerbils and hamsters, as pets. And rodents are an important part of ecosystems. Beavers build dams that create wetland habitats for fish and other creatures, and small rodents like mice are an important food source for some birds, snakes, and mammals. In traditional Chinese culture, rats are associated with cleverness, adaptability, and prosperity.

Definitions of rodent

1. noun

   a usually small type of mammal having a pair of ever-growing front teeth, specialized for gnawing, in each of the upper and lower jaws
   synonyms: gnawer

   types:

   mouse

   any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails

   rat

   any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse

   murine

   a rodent that is a member of the family Muridae

   water rat

   any of various amphibious rats

   New World mouse

   a variety of rodent

   Ondatra zibethica, muskrat, musquash

   beaver-like aquatic rodent of North America with dark glossy brown fur

   Florida water rat, Neofiber alleni, round-tailed muskrat

   of Florida wetlands

   Sigmodon hispidus, cotton rat

   destructive long-haired burrowing rat of southern North America and Central America

   wood rat, wood-rat

   any of various small short-tailed rodents of the northern hemisphere having soft fur grey above and white below with furred tails and large ears; some are hosts for Ixodes pacificus and Ixodes scapularis (Lyme disease ticks)

   hamster

   short-tailed Old World burrowing rodent with large cheek pouches

   gerbil, gerbille

   small Old World burrowing desert rodent with long soft pale fur and hind legs adapted for leaping

   lemming

   any of various short-tailed furry-footed rodents of circumpolar distribution

   hedgehog, porcupine

   any of various, relatively large, hairy, plant-eating mammals of the rodent order, either ground-dwelling or tree-dwelling, having sharp spines

   jumping mouse

   any of several primitive mouselike rodents with long hind legs and no cheek pouches; of woodlands of Eurasia and North America

   jerboa

   mouselike jumping rodent

   dormouse

   small furry-tailed squirrel-like Old World rodent that becomes torpid in cold weather

   squirrel

   a kind of arboreal rodent having a long bushy tail

   prairie dog, prairie marmot

   any of several rodents of North American prairies living in large complex burrows having a barking cry

   marmot

   stocky coarse-furred burrowing rodent with a short bushy tail found throughout the northern hemisphere; hibernates in winter

   beaver

   large semiaquatic rodent with webbed hind feet and a broad flat tail; construct complex dams and underwater lodges

   Aplodontia rufa, mountain beaver, sewellel

   bulky nocturnal burrowing rodent of uplands of the Pacific coast of North America; the most primitive living rodent

   cavy

   short-tailed rough-haired South American rodent

   Dolichotis patagonum, mara

   hare-like rodent of the pampas of Argentina

   Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, capibara, capybara

   pig-sized tailless South American amphibious rodent with partly webbed feet; largest living rodent

   Dasyprocta aguti, agouti

   agile long-legged rabbit-sized rodent of Central America and South America and the West Indies; valued as food

   Cuniculus paca, paca

   large burrowing rodent of South America and Central America; highly esteemed as food

   mountain paca

   rodent of mountains of western South America

   Myocastor coypus, coypu, nutria

   aquatic South American rodent resembling a small beaver; bred for its fur

   Chinchilla laniger, chinchilla

   small rodent with soft pearly grey fur; native to the Andes but bred in captivity for fur

   mountain chinchilla, mountain viscacha

   a rodent native to the mountains of Chile and Peru and now bred in captivity

   Lagostomus maximus, chinchillon, viscacha

   gregarious burrowing rodent larger than the chinchillas

   abrocome, chinchilla rat, rat chinchilla

   ratlike rodent with soft fur and large ears of the Andes

   mole rat

   furry short-limbed tailless rodent resembling a true mole in habits and appearance; of eastern Europe and Middle East

   mole rat

   African rodent resembling a mole in habits and appearance

   sand rat

   small nearly naked African mole rat of desert areas

   pocket rat

   any of various rodents with cheek pouches

   Mus musculus, house mouse

   brownish-grey Old World mouse now a common household pest worldwide

   Micromyx minutus, harvest mouse

   small reddish-brown Eurasian mouse inhabiting e.g. cornfields

   field mouse, fieldmouse

   any nocturnal Old World mouse of the genus Apodemus inhabiting woods and fields and gardens

   nude mouse

   a mouse with a genetic defect that prevents them from growing hair and also prevents them from immunologically rejecting human cells and tissues; widely used in preclinical trials

   Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus, brown rat

   common domestic rat; serious pest worldwide

   Rattus rattus, black rat, roof rat

   common household pest originally from Asia that has spread worldwide

   bandicoot rat, mole rat

   burrowing scaly-tailed rat of India and Ceylon

   jerboa rat

   large Australian rat with hind legs adapted for leaping

   beaver rat

   amphibious rat of Australia and New Guinea

   American harvest mouse, harvest mouse

   any of several small greyish New World mice inhabiting e.g. grain fields

   wood mouse

   any of various New World woodland mice

   dusky-footed wood rat

   a wood rat with dusky feet

   field mouse, vole

   any of various small mouselike rodents of the family Cricetidae (especially of genus Microtus) having a stout short-tailed body and inconspicuous ears and inhabiting fields or meadows

   Neotoma cinerea, bushytail woodrat, pack rat, packrat, trade rat

   any of several bushy-tailed rodents of the genus Neotoma of western North America; hoards food and other objects

   Neotoma floridana, eastern woodrat

   large greyish-brown wood rat of the southeastern United States

   Oryzomys palustris, rice rat

   hardy agile rat of grassy marshes of Mexico and the southeastern United States

   Cricetus cricetus, Eurasian hamster

   a variety of hamster common to Europe and Asia

   Mesocricetus auratus, Syrian hamster, golden hamster

   small light-colored hamster often kept as a pet

   jird

   gerbil of northern Africa

   Meriones unguiculatus, tamarisk gerbil

   a gerbil that is popular as a pet

   Meriones longifrons, sand rat

   southern European gerbil

   European lemming, Lemmus lemmus

   notable for mass migrations even into the sea where many drown

   Lemmus trimucronatus, brown lemming

   of northwestern Canada and Alaska

   gray lemming, grey lemming, red-backed lemming

   Old World lemming

   pied lemming

   North American lemming having a white winter coat and some claws much enlarged

   Synaptomys cooperi, southern bog lemming

   of low bogs and meadows of northeastern and central United States and southern Canada

   Synaptomys borealis, northern bog lemming

   of wet alpine and subalpine meadows of Canada and Alaska

   Old World porcupine

   terrestrial porcupine

   New World porcupine

   arboreal porcupine

   Zapus hudsonius, meadow jumping mouse

   widely distributed in northeastern and central United States and Canada

   typical jerboa

   small nocturnal jumping rodent with long hind legs; of arid parts of Asia and northern Africa

   Jaculus jaculus

   a variety of jerboa

   Glis glis, loir

   large European dormouse

   Muscardinus avellanarius, hazel mouse

   a variety of dormouse

   lerot

   dormouse of southern Europe and northern Africa

   tree squirrel

   any typical arboreal squirrel

   gopher, ground squirrel, spermophile

   any of various terrestrial burrowing rodents of Old and New Worlds; often destroy crops

   Cynomys ludovicianus, blacktail prairie dog

   tail is black tipped

   Cynomys gunnisoni, whitetail prairie dog

   tail is white tipped

   Tamias striatus, eastern chipmunk, ground squirrel, hackee, striped squirrel

   small striped semiterrestrial eastern American squirrel with cheek pouches

   chipmunk

   a burrowing ground squirrel of western America and Asia; has cheek pouches and a light and dark stripe running down the body

   Eutamius asiaticus, Eutamius sibiricus, baranduki, baronduki, barunduki, burunduki

   terrestrial Siberian squirrel

   American flying squirrel

   New World flying squirrels

   Marmota monax, groundhog, woodchuck

   a reddish brown North American marmot

   Marmota caligata, hoary marmot, whistler, whistling marmot

   large North American mountain marmot

   Marmota flaviventris, rockchuck, yellowbelly marmot

   heavy-bodied yellowish-brown marmot of rocky areas of western North America

   Asiatic flying squirrel

   nocturnal rodent of Asia having furry folds of skin between forelegs and hind legs enabling it to move by gliding leaps

   Castor fiber, Old World beaver

   a European variety of beaver

   Castor canadensis, New World beaver

   a variety of beaver found in almost all areas of North America except Florida

   Cavia cobaya, guinea pig

   stout-bodied nearly tailless domesticated cavy; often kept as a pet and widely used in research

   Cavia porcellus, aperea, wild cavy

   South American cavy; possibly ancestral to the domestic guinea pig

   type of:

   eutherian, eutherian mammal, placental, placental mammal

   mammals having a placenta; all mammals except monotremes and marsupials