I. ˈgōfə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: short for earlier megopher, of unknown origin
1.
a. : a burrowing land tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus ) of the coastal region of the southern United States whose shell attains the length of a foot or more and whose eggs and flesh are used as food
b. : any of several related land tortoises
2.
a. : any of several burrowing rodents (family Geomyidae) of western No. America, Central America, and the southern United States east to Georgia that are the size of a large rat and have small eyes, short ears, strong claws on the forelimbs, and large cheek pouches opening beside the mouth — called also pocket gopher
b.
(1) : any of numerous small ground squirrels of the prairie region of No. America that belong to the genus Citellus and are closely related to the chipmunks
(2) : any of numerous related animals (as chipmunks, marmots, prairie dogs)
3. : gopher snake
4. also gopher rock cod : any of various rockfishes of the genus Sebastodes
5. usually capitalized : minnesotan — used as a nickname
6. : gopherman 2
II. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to mine haphazardly in irregular holes