rhizoverbBeta
DictionarywoodchuckBurrowing marmot
noun

woodchuck

WOOD-chuk/ˈwʊdtʃʌk/

A burrowing North American marmot also called a groundhog.

A woodchuck emerges from its burrow in the grass.

A single groundhog pauses beside the entrance to its earthen burrow, with a small patch of grass and freshly displaced soil making its burrowing habitat clear.
Etymology
woodchuckCreemarten

The Cree ancestor shown, or the alternative Ojibwa word, meant “marten.” The animal name was subsequently transferred to the groundhog.

In context

Manufacturing Intellect21:59
THE WOODCHUCK SAYS, "MY OWN STRATEGIC RETREAT, IS WHERE TWO ROCKS ALMOST MEET, AND STILL MORE SECURE AND SNUG, A TWO-DOOR BURROW I DUG.
Robert Frost interview + poetry reading (1952)

More examples

  • The gardener watched a woodchuck nibble the clover.
  • The woodchuck disappeared beneath the shed.
  • We saw a woodchuck standing upright beside the field.

Forms

woodchuck · woodchucks

Similar words

groundhog
Groundhog is another name for the same animal.
marmot
Marmot names the broader group of large ground squirrels that includes woodchucks.