burrower

C2 Topic:Animals
US /ˈbɝː.oʊ.ɚ/ UK /ˈbʌr.əʊ.ə/
noun Freq #163781

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    an animal that digs a hole or tunnel, especially one that lives in the shelter it makes

    The wombat is a powerful burrower that spends much of the day underground.

  2. 2
    noun

    figurative: a person who searches deeply and persistently through information or material

    The painstaking burrower spent years combing archives for forgotten references.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · an animal that digs a hole... diggerexcavator
2 noun · figurative: a person who... researcherinvestigator
Word family
Related forms burrowburrowingdig

Etymology

Formed from burrow and the agent suffix -er, literally one that burrows. The figurative sense transfers an animal's persistent digging to a person who works laboriously through books, records, or other material.

Topics

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