noun

vole

VOHL/voʊl/

a small mouse-like rodent with a short tail

The vole moves through the grass with its short tail close behind.

A small stout vole emerges from a burrow in a grassy northern field, with short tail and rounded body clearly distinguished from a mouse; an old field boundary recedes behind it.

Etymology

Vole-mouse literally meant “field-mouse,” and shortening it left vole as the animal’s name. The compound’s first element probably comes from Old Norse völlr, meaning “field.”

In context

Deep Look2:32

This unlucky rodent had a small skull. It could be a vole.

Watch Barn Owls Swallow Rodents Whole | Deep Look

TED-Ed1:48

All these adaptations enable a great grey owl to hear a vole

These animals can hear everything - Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard

More examples

Several voles lived nearby.
A vole nibbled a stem.
She distinguished the vole from a mouse.

Forms

vole · voles

Similar words

mouse: A similar rodent, usually with a longer tail.
shrew: A different small mammal with a more pointed snout.