ger·bil

(jûr′bəl)

1. Any of various small, mouselike rodents of the genus Gerbillus and other genera of the subfamily Gerbillinae, having long hind legs and a long tail and inhabiting arid regions of Africa and Asia.

2. A Mongolian jird (Meriones unguiculatus) of the subfamily Gerbillinae, commonly domesticated and kept as a pet.

[French gerbille, from New Latin Gerbillus, genus name, from diminutive of gerbō, jerboa, variant of Medieval Latin jerbōa; see jerboa.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

gerbil

(ˈdʒɜːbɪl) or

gerbille

(Animals) any burrowing rodent of the subfamily Gerbillinae, inhabiting hot dry regions of Asia and Africa and having soft pale fur: family Cricetidae

[C19: from French gerbille, from New Latin gerbillus a little jerboa]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ger•bil

(ˈdʒɜr bəl)

n.

any small burrowing cricetid rodent of the subfamily Gerbilinae, with long hind legs, popular as a pet.

[1840–50; < French gerbille < New Latin gerbillus, diminutive of gerbo jerboa]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

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

gerbille

gnawer, rodent - relatively small placental mammals having a single pair of constantly growing incisor teeth specialized for gnawing

Gerbillinae, subfamily Gerbillinae - gerbils

jird - gerbil of northern Africa

Meriones unguiculatus, tamarisk gerbil - a gerbil that is popular as a pet

Meriones longifrons, sand rat - southern European gerbil

Translations

يَرْبُوع

pískomil

hoppemus

Wüstenrennmausmongolische RennmausRennmaus

ποντίκι

jerbo

gerbiili

gerbille

zamorac

gerbilloratto della sabbiatopolino del deserto

アレチネズミ

게르빌루스쥐

woestijnratgerbilrenmuisspringmuis

ørkenrotte

myszoskoczek

gerbilgerbilogerborato-do-deserto

песчанка

ökenråtta

สัตว์ทะเลทรายขนาดเล็กคล้ายหนู

çöl faresi

chuột nhảy

沙鼠

gerbil

[ˈdʒɜːbɪl] N → gerbo m, jerbo m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

gerbil

[ˈdʒɜː^rbɪl] n → gerbille f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

gerbil

n → Wüstenspringmaus f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

gerbil

[ˈdʒɜːbɪl] n → gerbillo

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

gerbil

→ يَرْبُوع pískomil hoppemus Wüstenrennmaus ποντίκι jerbo gerbiili gerbille zamorac gerbillo アレチネズミ 게르빌루스쥐 woestijnrat ørkenrotte myszoskoczek gerbil, gerbo песчанка ökenråtta สัตว์ทะเลทรายขนาดเล็กคล้ายหนู çöl faresi chuột nhảy 沙鼠

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Some viewers believe Judith said "gerbil" but question master John Humphrys said Judith's answer was correct.

TV champ: I knew it was jerboa and not gerbil

TV chiefs have come under fire after 59-year-old Judith Lewis claimed the Mastermind crown by answering a question about whether the mascot of the Army's Desert Rats was a gerbil rather than a jerboa.

Mastermind viewers furious after claiming new champion won with 'WRONG' answer; BBC chiefs have come under fire for the winner being decided with an answer that viewers have challenged

Aaa ARMED police officers stormed a house to rescue a pet gerbil after its owner was jailed.

Armed cops raid house to save convict's gerbil

Wu said that the transportation fee for each gerbil was 60 Chinese yuan.

Taiwanese woman caught smuggling 24 gerbils under skirt

Gerbil kil kurtlari, Oxyuroidea ustfamilyasina bagli olup, yasam dongulerinde ara konaga ihtiyac duymazlar.

Bir Mongolian Gerbilde (Meriones Unguiculatus) Dentostomella translucida Schulz ve Krepkorgorskaja, 1932/Dentostomella translucida (Gerbil Pinworm) Infection in Mongolian Gerbil (Meriones Unguiculatus) Schulz and Krepkorgorskaja, 1932

<p class="textbox" dir="ltr">At The Animal Store, nearly one-third of gerbil and hamster sales are impulse purchases made by shoppers who come in for something else.

Pad Profits with Pocket Pets

A TINY gerbil was cruelly thrown into a skip in Nuneaton "like rubbish" say sickened RSPCA inspectors.

Gerbil slung into skip like rubbish; rspca is left 'sickened' by cruelty to frightened animal

Arnold the gerbil arrives Aaron quizzes her about why she's not in school, and she does her best to cover up her hangover.

SOAP watch; Your guide to all the drama in the Square, on the cobbles and in the Dales

Adam, Brian, Chloe, Diane, and Eddie each have a different kind of pet: cat, dog, fish, gerbil, and turtle.

Pet Puzzle

Armed raiders who targeted the home of a serial shoplifter are linked to dead gangster Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll.

Gerbil's old pals behind gun raid

"Gator, Gator, Second Grader" is subtitled "Classroom Pet....Or Not?...As told By a Gerbil Named Snoozer, Translated from Gerblish to English!" It is a hilarious recounting of a highly unusual classroom visitor in the second grade.

Gator, Gator, Second Grader