/ maʊs; NAmE / noun ( pl. mice / maɪs; NAmE /)
1.
a small animal that is covered in fur and has a long thin tail. Mice live in fields, in people's houses or where food is stored :
a field mouse
a house mouse
The stores were overrun with rats and mice.
She crept upstairs, quiet as a mouse .
He was a weak little mouse of a man.
—see also dormouse
2.
( pl. also mouses ) ( computing ) a small device that is moved by hand across a surface to control the movement of the cursor on a computer screen :
Click the left mouse button twice to highlight the program.
Use the mouse to drag the icon to a new position.
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IDIOMS
see cat
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English mūs , (plural) mӯs , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch muis and German Maus , from an Indo-European root shared by Latin and Greek mus .