Definition of mouse potato in US English:
mouse potato
nounmous pəˈtādōmaʊs pəˈteɪdoʊ
informal A person who spends large amounts of time operating a computer.
Example sentencesExamples
- Since they have been reared as mouse potatoes, it is difficult to wean today's children away from the Internet.
- Her lack of wireless is really holding her back from becoming a full fledged mouse potato.
- Nobody allows you to remain a couch potato or a mouse potato any more: you have to respond to polls, contests, and invitations to what is being said on the programme on air.
- PC nerds addicted to their computers will be known as ‘mouse potatoes’, even if they are e-mailing their ‘keypals’, the new word for penpals.
- As access to higher bandwidth continues to increase, more mouse potatoes are passing the popcorn and getting their cinematic kicks on the Web.
Origin
1990s: on the pattern of couch potato.