: any of an order (Rodentia) of relatively small gnawing mammals (such as a mouse, squirrel, or beaver) that have in both jaws a single pair of incisors with a chisel-shaped edge
2
: a small mammal (such as a rabbit or a shrew) other than a true rodent
rodentadjective
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThe staccato comedy of a Pallas’s cat—truly nature’s chonkiest fuzzball—as it plods after a rodent.WIRED, 18 Sep. 2022 The damage to your tomatoes is consistent with rodent damage.oregonlive, 10 Sep. 2022 Dear White Staffers said he was tipped off to the rat trouble in mid-August by staffers at the center who sent him photos of a dead rat in a classroom, rodent droppings and traps in the center. Dana Hedgpeth, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2022 Before the discovery about the Brasilodon's age, scientists had previously confirmed that the Morganucodon, another small, rodent-like creature, was the world's earliest mammal. Wyatte Grantham-philips, USA TODAY, 8 Sep. 2022 The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse is a 2020 cartoon with old-fashioned flair that reinvigorates the iconic rodent by bringing him back to his roots. Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 8 Sep. 2022 Those violations included flying insects, a pesticide in the food area, rodent activity and a stop sale on a gallon of jerk sauce. Garfield Hylton, Orlando Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2022 The facility had been a hotbed of rodent activity for six months in 2021— all while items were being sent to stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee. Nedra Rhone, ajc, 9 Mar. 2022 Those violations included flying insects and rodent activity. Garfield Hylton, Orlando Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from the base of New Latin Rodentia, order name, from neuter plural of Latin rōdent-, rōdens, present participle of rōdere "to gnaw, nibble, eat away," perhaps going back to Indo-European *Hr̥h3d-, *Hreh3d-, whence also Hittite ardu- "saw (off)," Sanskrit rádati "(s/he) bites, gnaws, cuts, opens"