Definitions for shrew
ʃrushrew

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. shrew, termagantnoun

   a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman

2. shrew, shrewmousenoun

   small mouselike mammal with a long snout; related to moles

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. shrewnoun

   Any of numerous small mouselike, chiefly nocturnal, mammals of the family Soricidae.

2. shrewnoun

   An ill-tempered, nagging woman: a scold.

   You'd better not stay out late tonight uE00026504uE001 your mother is quite a shrew and you'll never hear the end of it.

3. Etymology: screawa, of unknown origin.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. SHREWnoun

   A peevish, malignant, clamorous, spiteful, vexatious, turbulent woman. [It appears in Robert of Gloucester, that this word signified anciently any one perverse or obstinate of either sex.]

   Etymology: schreyen, German, to clamour.

   There dede of hem vor hunger a thousand and mo,
   And yat nolde the screwen to none pes go. Robert of Gloucester .

   Be merry, my wife has all;
   For women are shrews both short and tall. William Shakespeare, H. IV.

   By this reckoning he is more shrew than she. William Shakespeare.

   A man had got a shrew to his wife, and there could be no quiet in the house for her. Roger L'Estrange.

   Her sallow cheeks her envious mind did shew,
   And ev’ry feature spoke aloud the shrew. Dryden.

   Every one of them, who is a shrew in domestick life, is now become a scold in politicks. Joseph Addison, Freeholder.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shrew

   Shrews (family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to different families or orders. Although its external appearance is generally that of a long-nosed mouse, a shrew is not a rodent, as mice are. It is, in fact, a much closer relative of hedgehogs and moles; shrews are related to rodents only in that both belong to the Boreoeutheria magnorder. Shrews have sharp, spike-like teeth, whereas rodents have gnawing front incisor teeth. Shrews are distributed almost worldwide; among the major tropical and temperate land masses, only New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand have no native shrews; in South America shrews appeared only relatively recently, as a result of the Great American Interchange, and are present only in the northern Andes. The shrew family has 385 known species, making it the fourth-most species-diverse mammal family. The only mammal families with more species are the muroid rodent families (Muridae and Cricetidae) and the bat family Vespertilionidae. The shrew family also probably has the largest population of any mammal family: there are an estimated 100 billion shrews in the world, with an average of a few shrews per hectare of forest.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. shrew

   A shrew is a small mammal that belongs to the family Soricidae. They are characterized by their pointed snout, small eyes, and small size. Shrews are insectivores, meaning they feed mainly on insects. They are known for their high metabolic rates and can be found in various habitats worldwide excluding Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand. The term "shrew" can also refer to a person, particularly a woman, who is aggressively assertive or ill-tempered.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shrewadjective

   wicked; malicious

2. Shrewadjective

   originally, a brawling, turbulent, vexatious person of either sex, but now restricted in use to females; a brawler; a scold

3. Shrewadjective

   any small insectivore of the genus Sorex and several allied genera of the family Sorecidae. In form and color they resemble mice, but they have a longer and more pointed nose. Some of them are the smallest of all mammals

4. Shrewadjective

   to beshrew; to curse

5. Etymology: [See Shrew, a.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shrew

   A shrew or shrew mouse is a small mole-like mammal classified in the order Soricomorpha. True shrews are also not to be confused with West Indies shrews, treeshrews, otter shrews, or elephant shrews, which belong to different families or orders. Although its external appearance is generally that of a long-nosed mouse, a shrew is not a rodent, as mice are, and is in fact more closely related to moles. Shrews have sharp, spike-like teeth, not the familiar gnawing front incisor teeth of rodents. Shrews are distributed almost worldwide: of the major tropical and temperate land masses, only New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand do not have any native shrews; in South America, shrews are relatively recent immigrants and are present only in the northern Andes. In terms of species diversity, the shrew family is the fourth most successful mammal family, being rivalled only by the muroid rodent families Muridae and Cricetidae and the bat family Vespertilionidae.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shrew

   shrōō, n. a brawling, troublesome woman: a scold: a family of insectivorous mammals closely resembling, in general form and appearance, the true mice and dormice—the head long, muzzle long and pointed.—adj. Shrewd, of an acute judgment: biting, keen: sly, malicious, wicked, cunning, vixenish.—adv. Shrewd′ly.—n. Shrewd′ness.—adj. Shrew′ish, having the qualities of a shrew: peevish and troublesome: clamorous.—adv. Shrew′ishly.—ns. Shrew′ishness; Shrew′-mole, a genus of insectivorous mammals of the family Talpidæ, very closely allied to the moles.—adj. Shrew′-struck, poisoned or blasted by a shrew. [A.S. screáwa, a shrew-mouse, its bite having been supposed venomous; cf. Ger. scher-maus, a mole.]

Matched Categories

1. • Insectivore
   • Unpleasant Woman

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce shrew?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say shrew in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of shrew in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of shrew in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=shrew
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Shrew
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=shrew
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrew
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shrew
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=shrew
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=shrew
9. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=shrew