prairie-dog

A prairie-dog stands on its hind legs near its burrow.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A burrowing rodent: "prairie-dog" refers to any of several small, short-tailed, burrowing rodents of the genus Cynomys, native to the grasslands of North America. They are known for their social behavior and distinctive warning calls.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The prairie-dog stood on its hind legs to survey the grassland for predators. (A small rodent observed the area.)
  • A colony of prairie-dogs lives in the network of tunnels beneath the field. (A group of these rodents inhabits the burrows.)

Advanced Usage

• "prairie-dog town": a large, interconnected colony of prairie-dog burrows.

  • The researchers studied the social structure of a prairie-dog town in South Dakota. (A colony of prairie-dog burrows was examined.)

• "prairie-dogging": a colloquial term for the act of prairie-dogs popping up from their burrows, or metaphorically, for office workers peeking over cubicle walls.

  • The sudden noise caused prairie-dogging across the office. (Workers looked over their partitions out of curiosity.)

Variants and Related Words

• Prairie dog (alternative spelling): the same animal, often written as two separate words.
  • A prairie dog's bark sounds like a dog's yip. (A common alternative form.)

Synonyms

• Ground squirrel: a broader term for small, burrowing rodents, though not all are prairie-dogs.
• Gopher: sometimes used loosely for prairie-dogs, though gophers are a different family.

Related Idioms

• "to prairie-dog" (verb, informal): to pop up suddenly, like a prairie-dog from its burrow.
  • He prairie-dogged from his seat when he heard his name called. (He popped up quickly.)