What Does Squirrel Mean?
A squirrel is a small animal with a long, bushy tail. Squirrels live in trees, climb very well, and hide nuts and seeds.
A squirrel ran up the oak tree with a nut.
It can also be a verb. To squirrel something away means to hide it or save it for later, just like the animal.
I squirreled away a few biscuits for later.
🔊 Pronunciation
American English: SKWUR-ul
British English: SKWIR-ul
It starts with SKW, like the start of square and squid. Then comes the R sound, a quick unstressed vowel, and a final L.
The hard part is going from the R to the L without adding a vowel in between. Say skwur first. Then add ul quietly and quickly.
🗣️ Natural Examples
A grey squirrel sat on the school fence.
The squirrels in the park are not afraid of people.
She squirreled away her best stickers in a tin.
Our dog barked at a squirrel and lost.
🛠️ How to Use It
Squirrel is an everyday word. It is a countable noun: one squirrel, two squirrels.
- Most squirrels are tree animals. Some, like the ground squirrel, live on the ground.
- The verb squirrel away is informal. It needs the small word away.
- American spelling: squirreled. British spelling: squirrelled. Both are fine.
🤝 Common Word Partners
- a grey squirrel
- a red squirrel
- a flying squirrel
- a ground squirrel
- squirrel away (verb phrase)
👯 Similar and Related Words
- chipmunk: a smaller, striped cousin of the squirrel, mostly from North America.
- hamster: a small pet animal, not a squirrel.
- acorn: the nut of an oak tree, a favourite squirrel snack.
- stash: to hide something to keep it safe. It is close in meaning to squirrel away.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
Spelling. There are two rs.
❌ squirel, squirl
✅ squirrel
Do not skip the L. The word ends in a clear L.
❌ SKWUR-uh
✅ SKWUR-ul
Do not add an extra vowel in the middle.
❌ sku-WUR-ul
✅ SKWUR-ul
💬 In a Conversation
Leo: Say "squirrel" three times fast.
Mia: Squirrel, squirrel, squi... squirl.
Leo: That is a new animal.
Mia: It is a squirl. It lives in my mouth.
🕵️ Where Does It Come From?
English took squirrel from Old French. The French word came from a Latin word, sciurus, and the Latin word came from Greek, skiouros.
A famous story says the Greek word means "shadow tail", from skia (shade) and oura (tail), because a squirrel can arch its tail over its back like a little umbrella. That story is probably a folk explanation. People noticed the Greek word looked like it could be split that way, but it is not thought to be the real origin.
💡 The OddLingo Trick
A squirrel stores nuts for later. Say the word in two parts and store the R safely before the L:
SKWUR ... ul
Park the R in the first part. Then add the L, like a nut dropped into a hole.