Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

squirrel

/ˈskwɪ.ɹ(ə)l/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.69 in modern English

Syllables
squir-rel
IPA
/ˈskwɪ.ɹ(ə)l/
17
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of the rodents of the family Sciuridae.

noun

Any of the rodents of the family Sciuridae.

noun

Someone who displays squirrel-like qualities such as stealing or hoarding objects.

noun

One of the small rollers of a carding machine which work with the large cylinder.

noun

A person, usually a freezoner, who applies L. Ron Hubbard's technology in a heterodox manner.

Derogatory

verb

To store in a secretive manner, to hide something for future use.

Transitive verb

verb

To become distracted.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English squirel, squyrelle, from Anglo-Norman esquirel and Old French escurel (whence French écureuil), from Vulgar Latin *scūriolus, diminutive of *scūrius, variant of Latin sciūrus, from Ancient Greek σκίουρος (skíouros, “shadow-tail”, from σκιά (skiá, “shadow”) + οὐρά (ourá, “tail”)). Displaced native Middle English acquerne, aquerne, from Old English ācweorna. See dialectical English con and puristic English oakwern.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *(s)ḱeh₃-, squirel, esquirel, escurel, *scūriolus, sciūrus

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈskwɪ.ɹ(ə)l/
  • British English: /ˈskwɪ.ɹ(ə)l/

Usage

Inflected Forms

squirrels (plural) squirril (alternative, obsolete) squirrels (present, singular) squirreling (US, participle) squirrelling (UK, participle) squirreled (US, participle) squirreled (US, past) squirrelled (UK, participle) squirrelled (UK, past)

Derived Forms

antisquirrel squirrelcide squirreldom squirreless squirrelfish squirrelian squirreliness squirrelish squirrelless squirrellike squirrelliness squirrelly

Phrases

Abert squirrel Abert's squirrel African giant squirrel African pygmy squirrel antelope squirrel barking squirrel cat squirrel chipping squirrel

Frequently Paired Words

chipmunk groundhog woodchuck marmot

Synonyms

sciurid scug

Rhymes With

referral epidural deferral serle girl earl pearl mount pearl curl swirl merle whirl

Questions

How do you pronounce squirrel?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈskwɪ.ɹ(ə)l/.
What does squirrel mean?
Any of the rodents of the family Sciuridae.
Where does squirrel come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce squirrel

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “squirrel”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈskwɪ.ɹ(ə)l/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “squirrel”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “squirrel” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.