Noun

• (RP) IPA: /maʊs/
• (America) enPR: mous, IPA: /maʊs/
• (Canada) IPA: /mʌʊs/

Verb

• (RP) IPA: /maʊs/, /maʊz/
• (America) enPR mous, IPA: /maʊs/, /maʊz/
• (Canada) IPA: /mʌʊs/, /maʊz/

mouse (plural mice)

1. Any small rodent of the genus Mus.
   • 1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], OCLC 16832619 ↗:

     At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.

2. (informal) A member of the many small rodent and marsupial species resembling such a rodent.
3. A quiet or shy person.
4. (computing) (plural mice or, rarely, mouses) An input device that is moved over a pad or other flat surface to produce a corresponding movement of a pointer on a graphical display.
5. (boxing) Hematoma.
6. (nautical) A turn or lashing of spun yarn or small stuff, or a metallic clasp or fastening, uniting the point and shank of a hook to prevent its unhooking or straightening out.
7. (obsolete) A familiar term of endearment.
8. A match used in firing guns or blasting.
9. (set theory) A small model of (a fragment of) Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory with desirable properties (depending on the context).
10. (historical) A small cushion for a woman's hair.

• French: (mouse or rat) souris
• German: Maus
• Italian: topo, sorcio, ratto
• Portuguese: rato, camundongo
• Russian: мышь
• Spanish: ratón mur

• Portuguese: tímido
• Russian: мышь

• French: souris
• German: Maus, Computermaus, Rechnermaus
• Italian: mouse
• Portuguese: (Portugal) rato, (Brazil) mouse
• Russian: мы́шка
• Spanish: ratón, mouse

mouse (mouses, present participle mousing; past and past participle moused)

1. (intransitive) To move cautiously or furtively, in the manner of a mouse (the rodent) (frequently used in the phrasal verb to mouse around).
2. (intransitive) To hunt or catch mice (the rodents), usually of cats.
3. (transitive, nautical) To close the mouth of a hook by a careful binding of marline or wire.

   Captain Higgins moused the hook with a bit of marline to prevent the block beckets from falling out under slack.

4. (intransitive, computing) To navigate by means of a computer mouse.
   • 1988, MacUser, Volume 4

     I had just moused to the File menu and the pull-down menu repeated the menu bar's hue a dozen shades lighter.

5. (obsolete, nonce, transitive) To tear, as a cat devours a mouse.
   • c. 1596, William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act II, scene i]:

     [Death] mousing the flesh of men.

• French: fureter
• German: mausen

• German: mausen, Mäuse fangen
• Russian: лови́ть мышей

• muscle
• mussel