any arboreal sciurine rodent of the genus Sciurus, such as S. vulgaris (red squirrel) or S. carolinensis (grey squirrel), having a bushy tail and feeding on nuts, seeds, etc
▶ Related adjective: sciurine
2.
any other rodent of the family Sciuridae, such as a ground squirrel or a marmot
3.
the fur of such an animal
4. informal
a person who hoards things
verbWord forms: -rels, -relling, -relledWord forms: especially US-rels, -reling or -reled
5. (transitive; usually foll byaway) informal
to store for future use; hoard
Derived forms
squirrel-like (ˈsquirrel-ˌlike)
adjective
Word origin
C14: from Old French esquireul, from Late Latin sciūrus, from Greek skiouros, from skia shadow + oura tail
Examples of 'squirrelled' in a sentence
squirrelled
Kagg squirrelled the report away in his top drawer and made a big deal of locking it.
Terman, Douglas CORMORANT
Squirrelled away up leafy driveways are several more homes and studios of the period.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
My choices for destination dining are squirrelled away in villages.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
So the money is squirrelled away instead of being spent productively.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
It's squirrelled away in its own 80-acre wood.
Times, Sunday Times (2018)
There are no lifts, and rooms are squirrelled away down corridors, so pack lightly.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
I wonder how much money this billionaire has squirrelled away from the ordinary taxpayer.
The Sun (2018)
Twisted letters had also been squirrelled away.
The Sun (2010)
She promised to pay it back from some savings she had squirrelled away.
The Sun (2012)
He had squirrelled away 60,000 but had been declaring income of only 100 a week.