GERBIL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does gerbil mean? 

• GERBIL (noun)
  The noun GERBIL has 1 sense:

1. small Old World burrowing desert rodent with long soft pale fur and hind legs adapted for leaping

  Familiarity information: GERBIL used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GERBIL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Small Old World burrowing desert rodent with long soft pale fur and hind legs adapted for leaping

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

gerbil; gerbille

Hypernyms ("gerbil" is a kind of...):

gnawer; rodent (relatively small placental mammals having a single pair of constantly growing incisor teeth specialized for gnawing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gerbil"):

jird (gerbil of northern Africa)

Meriones unguiculatus; tamarisk gerbil (a gerbil that is popular as a pet)

Meriones longifrons; sand rat (southern European gerbil)

Holonyms ("gerbil" is a member of...):

Gerbillinae; subfamily Gerbillinae (gerbils)

 Context examples 

The Mongolian gerbil was first imported into the United States in 1954 by Dr. Victor Schwentker.

(Mongolian Gerbil, NCI Thesaurus)

Taxonomic family which includes mice, rats, and gerbils.

(Muridae, NCI Thesaurus)

The most common spontaneous tumors that form in gerbils are ovarian tumors and skin carcinomas of the ears, feet, mid-abdomen, and tail base.

(Gerbil, NCI Thesaurus)

A rodent belonging to subfamily Gerbillinae, Meriones unguiculatus is the most common species of the gerbil subfamily.

(Mongolian Gerbil, NCI Thesaurus)

The average gestational period of the gerbil embryo is 35 days and the gerbil has a life span of 3-4 years.

(Gerbil, NCI Thesaurus)

Charles River Laboratories currently disseminates gerbils for scientific research from stocks initially derived at Tumblebrook Farms (1995).

(Mongolian Gerbil, NCI Thesaurus)

Gerbils are docile, social creatures and can be housed as pairs or in groups of three.

(Gerbil, NCI Thesaurus)

Most gerbils used in pre-clinical research are agouti-colored and comprise less than 0.5% of total rodent usage annually.

(Mongolian Gerbil, NCI Thesaurus)