Definition

1. Noun:
   • A small rodent, typically brown or grey, that lives in outdoor habitats such as fields, meadows, woods, and gardens. The term can refer specifically to Old World mice of the genus Apodemus or, more broadly in North America, to various vole species of the family Cricetidae (e.g., genus Microtus).

Usage and Examples

• Noun:
  • The farmer set traps to protect his grain from the field mouse.
  • We saw a tiny field mouse scurrying into a burrow at the edge of the meadow.
  • Unlike the house mouse, the field mouse has a more stout body and shorter tail.

Advanced Usage

• The term "field mouse" is a common name, not a precise scientific classification. Its specific meaning depends on geographic context.
• In ecological writing, the term is often used to distinguish wild, outdoor-dwelling rodents from commensal species like the house mouse ().

Variants and Related Words

• Vole (noun): A primary North American meaning of "field mouse" refers to animals in this rodent group, characterized by a stouter body and shorter tail than typical mice.
• Wood mouse (noun): A common name for , a specific type of field mouse found in Europe and northwestern Africa.
• Meadow vole (noun): A common name for , a North American rodent often called a field mouse.

Synonyms

• Vole (in North American context)
• Meadow mouse (a regional synonym)

Notes on Different Meanings

1. Zoological Context (Old World): Specifically refers to mice of the genus , which are nocturnal and inhabit various outdoor areas.
2. General/Common Context (especially North America): Used more loosely to describe any small, mouselike rodent found in fields and meadows, most often referring to voles (family Cricetidae).

Noun

1. any nocturnal Old World mouse of the genus Apodemus inhabiting woods and fields and gardens
2. any of various small mouselike rodents of the family Cricetidae (especially of genus Microtus) having a stout short-tailed body and inconspicuous ears and inhabiting fields or meadows