# mouse

/ˈmaʊs/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/mouse
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. the animal

noun · CEFR A1

a small furry animal with a long tail and a pointed nose.

For teachers: a small rodent of the genus Mus, characterized by a pointed snout and a long, hairless tail.

- The cat sat quietly by the hole, waiting for the mouse to come out.
- Field mice often seek shelter in barns and outbuildings during the winter months to escape the freezing temperatures and lack of food.

### 2. computer tool

noun · CEFR A1

a small device you move with your hand to control a computer.

For teachers: a handheld pointing device that detects two-dimensional motion relative to a surface.

- Click the left button on your mouse to select the file.
- The designer preferred a high-precision optical mouse over a trackpad for the detailed work required in the architectural software.

### 3. shy person

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal

a person who is very quiet, shy, or easily frightened.

For teachers: a person characterized by a timid, quiet, or unobtrusive nature.

- She used to be a bit of a mouse, but she has become much more confident.
- Despite his imposing physical presence, he was a mouse in social situations, rarely speaking unless directly addressed by a colleague.

### 4. to move quietly

verb · CEFR C1 · Literary

to move around quietly and carefully, as if you are trying not to be seen.

For teachers: to move in a furtive or cautious manner; frequently used in the phrasal form 'mouse around'.

- I heard him mousing around in the kitchen late last night.
- The detective spent the afternoon mousing around the archives, hoping to find a document that the previous investigators had overlooked.

### 5. to hunt mice

verb · CEFR C2 · Technical

to hunt or catch mice, usually said about a cat.

For teachers: to hunt for or catch mice; typically used as an intransitive verb describing feline behavior.

- The farm cat is very good at mousing and keeps the barn clean.
- The elderly tabby had lost its appetite for mousing, preferring to spend its days dozing in the patches of sunlight on the porch.

Usage: The verb is intransitive and does not take a direct object.

## Examples

- I use a wireless mouse with my laptop.
- The cursor stopped moving because the battery in the wireless mouse was dead.
- While the mouse remains the primary input device for desktop computing, touchscreens and trackpads have become the dominant interfaces for mobile and portable hardware.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.