burrow

[bur-oh, buhr-oh] /ˈbɜr oʊ, ˈbʌr oʊ/
noun
1.
a hole or tunnel in the ground made by a rabbit, fox, or similar animal for habitation and refuge.
2.
a place of retreat; shelter or refuge.
verb (used without object)
3.
to make a hole or passage in, into, or under something.
4.
to lodge in a burrow.
5.
to hide.
6.
to proceed by or as if by digging.
verb (used with object)
7.
to put a burrow into (a hill, mountainside, etc.).
8.
to hide (oneself), as in a burrow.
9.
to make by or as if by burrowing:
We burrowed our way through the crowd.
Origin
1325-75; Middle English borow, earlier burh, apparently gradational variant of late Middle English beri burrow, variant of earlier berg refuge, Old English gebeorg, derivative of beorgan to protect; akin to Old English burgen grave, i.e., place of protection for a body; see bury
Related forms
burrower, noun
unburrowed, adjective
Can be confused
borough, burro, burrow.
Examples from the web for burrow
  • Imagine you are poking a stick into an animal's burrow.
  • Each burrow has a mound of excavated dirt at the entrance where the animal can often be seen standing.
  • With the official arrival of winter comes the human urge to burrow.
  • Give him a word, and he would burrow joyously into its etymology.
  • For about six weeks after birth, mothers do not allow entry into the nursery burrow.
  • The more they slipped, the farther from their burrow they stopped.
  • The clam uses a tiny foot to burrow into the seafloor as it grows.
  • Each time they venture out from the safety of their burrow their lives are under constant threat from predators.
  • These segments are covered in setae, or small bristles, which the worm uses to move and burrow.
  • Wooden stakes mark several mounds, and many of the burrow openings are masked by chicken wire.
British Dictionary definitions for burrow

burrow

/ˈbʌrəʊ/
noun
1.
a hole or tunnel dug in the ground by a rabbit, fox, or other small animal, for habitation or shelter
2.
a small snug place affording shelter or retreat
verb
3.
to dig (a burrow) in, through, or under (ground)
4.
(intransitive) often foll by through. to move through by or as by digging: to burrow through the forest
5.
(intransitive) to hide or live in a burrow
6.
(intransitive) to delve deeply: he burrowed into his pockets
7.
to hide (oneself)
Derived Forms
burrower, noun
Word Origin
C13: probably a variant of borough
Word Origin and History for burrow
n.

"rabbit-hole, fox-hole, etc.," c.1300, borewe, from Old English burgh "stronghold, fortress" (see borough); influenced by bergh "hill," and berwen "to defend, take refuge."

v.

c.1600, "to place in a burrow, from burrow (n.). Figuratively (e.g. to burrow (one's) head) by 1862. Intransitive sense, "to bore one's way into, penetrate" is from 1610s, originally figurative (literal sense, of animals, attested by 1771). Related: Burrowed; borrowing.