Definition of "mouse" []

• Any of numerous small rodents of the families Muridae and Cricetidae, such as the common house mouse (Mus musculus), characteristically having a pointed snout, small rounded ears, and a long naked or almost hairless tail. (noun)
• Any of various similar or related animals, such as the jumping mouse, the vole, or the jerboa. (noun)
• A cowardly or timid person. (noun)
• Informal A discolored swelling under the eye caused by a blow; a black eye. (noun)
• Computer Science A hand-held, button-activated input device that when rolled along a flat surface directs an indicator to move correspondingly about a computer screen, allowing the operator to move the indicator freely, as to select operations or manipulate text or graphics. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "A nude mouse is a laboratory mouse from a strain with a genetic mutation that causes a deteriorated or absent thymus, resulting in an inhibited immune system due to a greatly reduced number of T cells."
• "The term mouse comes from the appearance of the device, with the cord to the main computer being seen as a tail of sorts."
• "Matthew Broderick, who voices the title mouse of The Tale of Despereaux, admits to approaching his voice with the self-consciousness of someone hearing himself on an answering machine for the first time."