kangaroo rat

noun

any of various small jumping rodents of the family Heteromyidae, of Mexico and the western U.S.
an Australian desert rodent of the genus Notomys.

Origin of kangaroo rat

First recorded in 1780–90

Words nearby kangaroo rat

kangaroo court, kangaroo dog, kangaroo grass, kangaroo island, kangaroo paw, kangaroo rat, kangaroo vine, kangchenjunga, kangha, kangwane, kanin

Example sentences from the Web for kangaroo rat

  • Not a vestige of life, not even the horned-toad or the trail of the kangaroo-rat is to be seen.

    Wealth of the World's Waste Places and Oceania  |Jewett Castello Gilson

  • Only once he darted after a kangaroo-rat, and caught it before it had gone twenty yards.

    The Bushman |Edward Wilson Landor

  • In the Southwest it is called the kangaroo-rat, but North and East it is known as the jumping mouse.

    On the Trail |Lina Beard and Adelia Belle Beard

  • And why stop at the kangaroo-rat—the first mammal to bring forth its young alive?

    War Letters of a Public-School Boy |Paul Jones.

British Dictionary definitions for kangaroo rat

kangaroo rat

noun

any small leaping rodent of the genus Dipodomys, related to the squirrels and inhabiting desert regions of North America, having a stocky body and very long hind legs and tails: family Heteromyidae
Also called: kangaroo mouse any of several leaping murine rodents of the Australian genus Notomys