: a hole or excavation in the ground made by an animal (such as a rabbit) for shelter and habitation
burrowed; burrowing; burrows
1
a
: to make a burrow
A fox had burrowed into the side of the hill.
b
: to progress by or as if by digging
burrowing through a pile of paperwork
3
: to conceal oneself in or as if in a burrow
1
a
: to penetrate by means of a burrow
The tunnel burrows its way under the mountain.
b
: to construct by tunneling
burrowed a dwelling
3
archaic
: to hide in or as if in a hole in the ground made by an animal for shelter and habitation : to hide in or as if in a burrow
was burrowed in his cave
burrower
noun
Examples of burrow in a Sentence
Noun
the chipmunk retreated to its burrow to have its babies
Verb
The rabbit burrowed into the side of the hill.
The frogs burrow under the mud.
The mole burrowed its way under the ground.
Recent Examples on the Web
Big Think, 24 June 2024
The walls of the acrylic containers may have affected the burrowing behavior in the lab, or the final shape of the burrows.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 20 June 2024
Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 20 June 2024
The fact that the first major divergence from ancestral snakes is the blind snake group—a small, burrowing type of serpent—adds some weight to this theory.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 4 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for burrow 
Noun
The Past Lair of giant predator worms from 20 million years ago found
Scientists discover burrows of giant predator worms that lived on the seafloor 20 million years ago.
—Big Think, 24 June 2024
The walls of the acrylic containers may have affected the burrowing behavior in the lab, or the final shape of the burrows.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 20 June 2024
Verb
Body size and substrate type may also influence burrowing behavior.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 20 June 2024
The fact that the first major divergence from ancestral snakes is the blind snake group—a small, burrowing type of serpent—adds some weight to this theory.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 4 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for burrow
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'burrow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Burrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burrow. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
burrow
1 of 2 noun
bur·row
ˈbər-ō 
ˈbə-rō
: a hole in the ground made by an animal (as a rabbit or fox) for shelter or protection
burrow
2 of 2 verb1
: to construct by tunneling
2
: to hide oneself in or as if in a burrow
3
: to move or enter by or as if by digging
burrower
noun
Medical Definition
burrow
noun
bur·row
ˈbər-(ˌ)ō, ˈbə-(ˌ)rō
: a passage or gallery formed in or under the skin by the wandering of a parasite (as the mite of scabies or a foreign hookworm)
burrow
verb
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