Illustration of mongoose
mongoose
noun
mon·goose ˈmän-ˌgüs 
ˈmäŋ-
ˈmäŋ- plural mongooses also mongeese ˈmän-ˌgēs
ˈmäŋ-
: any of numerous long slender carnivorous mammals (family Herpestidae) chiefly of Africa and southern Europe and Asia that are usually ferret-sized agile mammals typically with nonretractile sharp claws, short legs, long tail, and usually brownish or grayish fur sometimes with bands or stripes
Note: Mongooses feed chiefly on small animals (such as insects, earthworms, birds, snakes, and rodents) and are sometimes grouped with the viverrids in two subfamilies (Herpestinae and Galidiinae).
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Males over the age of eleven become liabilities in mongoose warfare. 
Rafil Kroll-zaidi, Harper’s Magazine , 17 Aug. 2022 The park lives up to the distinction with nearly 29,000 acres of dense rainforest inhabited by geckos, mongoose, bats, and 97 bird species. Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 21 June 2022 Liberia is home to more than 40 percent of West Africa’s forests and houses some of the world’s rarest animal species, including the Liberian mongoose and pygmy hippos. Wufei Yu, Outside Online, 24 June 2020 And then there’s the mongoose, with a height typically under two feet. Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 20 Apr. 2022 By comparison, the far-more-ancient Diegoaelurus was much smaller, about the size of a bobcat, and similar in style to the fossa of Madagascar, a cousin to the mongoose, Poust said. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2022 Researchers say the two limestone sphinxes depicted Amenhotep in a mongoose headdress, sporting a beard and broad necklace, per the statement. David Kindy, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Jan. 2022 There is also a minor epidemic of troll players wielding two rattan Kali sticks that seem to grant them the speed of a mongoose that’s been mainlining methamphetamines. Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2021 Most unusual picks: fossa (a mongoose relative) and axolotl (a type of salamander). Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2021 See More
Rafil Kroll-zaidi, Harper’s Magazine , 17 Aug. 2022 The park lives up to the distinction with nearly 29,000 acres of dense rainforest inhabited by geckos, mongoose, bats, and 97 bird species. Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 21 June 2022 Liberia is home to more than 40 percent of West Africa’s forests and houses some of the world’s rarest animal species, including the Liberian mongoose and pygmy hippos. Wufei Yu, Outside Online, 24 June 2020 And then there’s the mongoose, with a height typically under two feet. Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 20 Apr. 2022 By comparison, the far-more-ancient Diegoaelurus was much smaller, about the size of a bobcat, and similar in style to the fossa of Madagascar, a cousin to the mongoose, Poust said. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2022 Researchers say the two limestone sphinxes depicted Amenhotep in a mongoose headdress, sporting a beard and broad necklace, per the statement. David Kindy, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Jan. 2022 There is also a minor epidemic of troll players wielding two rattan Kali sticks that seem to grant them the speed of a mongoose that’s been mainlining methamphetamines. Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2021 Most unusual picks: fossa (a mongoose relative) and axolotl (a type of salamander). Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Hindi & Marathi mãgūs, from Prakrit maṁgūsa
First Known Use
1673, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
mongoose
noun
mon·goose ˈmän-ˌgüs
ˈmäŋ-ˌgüs
plural mongooses
: a long thin furry animal with sharp claws that eats small animals (as snakes and mice), eggs, and fruit