mks

Noun

mouse (plural mice or (computing) mouses)

1. (broadly) Any mammal of the many rodent families (especially Muridae) that have a small body and a long tail.
   • Near-synonyms: murine, murid, vole (all parasynonymous with this broad sense)

   Synonyms:

   murine, murid, vole

   1. (broadly, strictly) Such a rodent that is of the genus Mus.
      • At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC
   2. (broadly, figuratively) A quiet or shy person.
      • She's probably hiding in her room, she always does when we have company. She's our little mouse.
   3. (broadly, figuratively, obsolete) A familiar term of endearment.
      • Let the bloat King tempt you again to bed, / Pinch wanton on your cheek, call you his mousec. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 3, scene 4
2. An input device that is moved over a pad or other flat surface to produce a corresponding movement of a pointer on a graphical display.
   • My mouse needs new batteries.
   1. (broadly) An on-screen pointer controlled by a mouse device.
      • Move the mouse over the icon.

See all 19 meanings of mouse