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Mongoose definition

mŏnggo͝os, mŏn-
mongooses
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Any of various carnivorous mammals of the family Herpestidae, native to Asia, Africa, and southern Europe and introduced elsewhere, having a slender agile body and a long tail, and noted for the ability to seize and kill venomous snakes.
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Any of various civetlike, Old World carnivores (family Viverridae), esp., any of a sometimes domesticated genus (Herpestes) noted for their ability to kill poisonous snakes, rodents, etc.
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Carnivores of the family Herpestidae and the similar Malagasy mongooses (Galidiinae), ranging in size from small rats to large cats, including the Indian mongoose famed as a predators of venomous snakes.
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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
mongoose
Plural:
mongooses

Origin of mongoose

  • Marathi mangūs of Dravidian origin

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Portuguese mangus, from Marathi मुंगूस (mumgūsa), from Telugu ముంగిస (muṅgisa).

    From Wiktionary

Mongoose Sentence Examples

  • Some more or less immune creatures are the mongoose, the hedgehog and the pig, the secretary-bird, the honey buzzard, the stork and probably other snake-eaters.

  • But the story of the ichneumon or mongoose is a fable.

  • The same mongoose also refused to eat a kestrel (Cerchneis rupicoloides) and a hobby (Falco subbuteo), although it devoured certain other birds that were given to it.

  • The yellow mongoose is normally active during the day.

  • Dog bites are the major origin of infection for humans in developing countries, but other important host animals are the wolf, mongoose, and bat.

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