BURROWS Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

burrows 1 of 2

noun

plural of burrow

as in nests

the shelter or resting place of a wild animal the chipmunk retreated to its burrow to have its babies

Synonyms & Similar Words

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burrows

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of burrow

as in claws

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

as in crouches

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of burrows

Noun

In addition, because rodents often die in their burrows, and new rodents move in to set up camp, the fungus capitalizes on a steady stream of mammal flesh. — Susanne Rust follow, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026 Skunk Tracks Skunks will leave five-toed prints to and from their burrows. — Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 24 Sep. 2026 This is usually when the males leave their burrows and search for its female counterpart. — Rashad Alexander, Kansas City Star, 23 Sep. 2026 Tarantula hawk wasps are a subtype of solitary insect that live in underground burrows. — Sean Donnelly, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026 Other Animals While you may be tempted to blame other animals such as opossums or snakes, or even coyotes for making holes or burrows in your yard, these creatures are more likely to use existing animal holes for their dens. — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 12 Sep. 2026 Their body temperature drops from about that of a human to as low as 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius), not much warmer than their burrows in winter. — Brittany Peterson, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2026 As opposed to beavers that build dams and lodges, block streams and divert and channel water, these beavers dig underwater into the bank of the reservoir and access their burrows through underground tunnels. — Carl R. Gold, Baltimore Sun, 14 Aug. 2026 Research suggests these insects, found in northeastern Illinois and other Midwestern states, require burrows created by Great Plains mudbugs and water flowing over the mineral dolomite, Garrison said. — Finnegan Belleau, Chicago Tribune, 9 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for burrows

Noun

Times staff writer Corinne Purtill wrote that biologists and cheloniophiles barely had time to celebrate before realizing that these nests were at risk of being destroyed by incoming storm surges and high tides.

— Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Their most obvious use was as sniper nests for shooting the ostriches.

— J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of nests

Verb

The child folds over and crouches on the ground while the performance continues for several seconds.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026
Sometimes a less reliable dog will smell in this manner the hot body scent of venison as a trembling doe crouches close in the brush upwind.

— Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 15 July 2026

Definition of crouches

Noun

Some large bulls may retreat to lairs and hang out by themselves, remaining there as long as there is adequate food and water.

— Jim Zumbo, Outdoor Life, 10 Sep. 2026
These involve raiding the lairs of hoodlum rivals, then singlehandedly dissuading them from competition.

— Dennis Harvey, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025

Definition of lairs

Verb

Accomplished poet and nonfiction writer Brandon Shimoda brings his love of lyricism to this memoir, a portrait of his grandfather that excavates a century of xenophobia and silence in America.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026
One of the most convincing ways Reid excavates Lestat’s inner world is through the music.

— Hannah Giorgis Yohannes, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026

Definition of excavates

Verb

Funderburg squats 600 pounds and is all but assured of breaking Zion-Benton’s all-time record in the bench press, 405 pounds, which is held by Nelson.

— Steve Reaven, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
The venue was a blockish and forbidding space called Magazine, which squats in a loop of the Thames, in southeast London.

— Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 July 2026

Definition of squats

Noun

Since at least the 1970s and 1980s, there have been incidents of gang rape of intoxicated, incapacitated women in fraternity houses.

— Richard Hall, Time, 7 Oct. 2026
Hyatt transformed the resort with six new buildings, including additional guest houses; all 117 rooms have also been overhauled, and there is a new pool as well as tons of new activities and programs.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026