: an aquatic rodent (Ondatra zibethicus) of the U.S. and Canada with a long scaly laterally compressed tail, webbed hind feet, and dark glossy brown fur
also: its fur or pelt
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The eagle looked right at us before resuming its aerial assessment, hooked yellow beak ready to snag a muskrat or bluegill from the ponds below.—Jamie Siebrase, The Denver Post, 5 Feb. 2025 Imagine a pale roly-poly the size of a muskrat wandering the seafloor.—Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025 Their diet includes muskrats, a primary predator of freshwater mussels, which are now confirmed to carry radium.—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025 The muskrats are depended on by bald eagles, and muskrats are probably the biggest consumer of the freshwater mussels.—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for muskrat
Word History
Etymology
probably by folk etymology from a word of Algonquian origin; akin to Massachusett musquash muskrat
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