mouser

noun

mous·​er ˈmau̇-sər How to pronounce mouser (audio)
 US also and chiefly British  -zər
: a catcher of mice and rats
especially : a cat proficient at mousing

Examples of mouser in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Aoshima, after all, hadn’t always been a cat island; once, it had been populated mostly by people, fishermen, who brought the cats over to work as mousers. Hanya Yanagihara Kyoko Hamada, New York Times, 10 May 2023 Though cats had been employed as chief mousers for centuries, Larry was the first to be given the official title. Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 23 Feb. 2023 This cat, the man remarks, may make a good mouser. Rebecca Curtis, The New Yorker, 9 Nov. 2020 Koudounaris learned of an army tomcat named the Colonel, for example, who was stationed at San Francisco’s Presidio in the 1890s and was said to be the best mouser the army ever had. Rachel Nuwer, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Nov. 2020 The 12-year-old tabby is the government’s official chief mouser to the Cabinet Office. Washington Post, 24 July 2019 As mousers, cats earn their keep guarding the sacks of grain that are essential to distilleries and breweries. Florence Fabricant, New York Times, 18 Dec. 2017 Philadelphia’s Animal Care and Control Team established the program about four years ago to place unadoptable cats — the biters and the skittish, the swatters and the ones who won’t use a litter box — into jobs as mousers at barns or stables. Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2017 Others go to people looking for mousers or barn cats outside. Zaz Hollander, Alaska Dispatch News, 12 Sep. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mouser.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mouser was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near mouser

Cite this Entry

“Mouser.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mouser. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

mouser

noun
mous·​er ˈmau̇-zər How to pronounce mouser (audio)
: a cat good at catching mice

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