What does "burrow" mean?
A tunnel or hole, often as dug by a small creature.
Burrow
/ˈbʌɹoʊ/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A tunnel or hole, often as dug by a small creature.
- Grammar: burrow is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: tunnel, abri, anchor, antre.
- Useful contrasts: drey, emerge, ignore.
- Usage evidence: The aardvark has powerful limbs and sharp claws so it can burrow into earth at high speed.
How to use "burrow"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "burrow" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "burrow" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "burrow" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "burrow" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "burrow" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "tunnel" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "burrow", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A tunnel or hole, often as dug by a small creature.
"But very soon he grew to like it, for the Boy used to talk to him, and made nice tunnels for him under the bedclothes that he said were like the burrows the real rabbits lived in."
- 2 a hole made by an animal, usually for shelter wordnet
- 3 Obsolete form of barrow (“a mound”). alt-of, obsolete
- 4 Obsolete form of borough (“an incorporated town”). alt-of, obsolete
Verb
- 1 To dig a tunnel or hole. intransitive
- 2 move through by or as by digging wordnet
- 3 To move underneath or press up against in search of safety or comfort. intransitive
"The young girl burrowed into the bed."
- 4 To investigate thoroughly. intransitive
"The journalist burrowed into the origins of the mayor's corruption."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 A place in England:; A hamlet in Broadclyst parish, East Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SX9997). countable, uncountable
- 3 A place in England:; A settlement in Newton Poppleford and Harpford parish, East Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SY0789). countable, uncountable
- 4 A place in England:; A settlement in Kingsbury Episcopi parish, Somerset, which includes Higher Burrow and Lower Burrow (OS grid ref ST4120). countable, uncountable
- 5 A place in England:; A hamlet in Wootton Courtenay parish and Timberscombe parish, Somerset (OS grid ref SS9342). countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The aardvark has powerful limbs and sharp claws so it can burrow into earth at high speed."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "burrow"?
Common synonyms include: tunnel, abri, anchor, antre, be incognito, beat the bushes.
How do you use "burrow" in a sentence?
The aardvark has powerful limbs and sharp claws so it can burrow into earth at high speed.
How do you pronounce "burrow"?
Pronounced /ˈbʌɹoʊ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English borowe, borewe, borwȝ, burȝe, burh, burye (“refuge for an animal, lair, burrow”), apparently a variant of Middle English burgh (“fortified dwelling, stronghold, refuge”) (see borough) and thus from Old English burh, from Proto-West Germanic *burg, from Proto-Germanic *burgz (“stronghold, city”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“high”), but this sense is not known in Old English burh. Compare, however, Dutch cognate burcht, which has a similar sense. It may be related to bury (“to dig”), in which case it would be derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to protect, defend, save, preserve”).
Etymology 2
English surname, from the noun borough. Also from the noun burrow and the two senses were often conflated. Compare Burrough, Burgh.