HAMSTER Definition & Meaning

hamster

[ ham-ster ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

any of several short-tailed, stout-bodied, burrowing rodents, as Cricetus cricetus, of Europe and Asia, having large cheek pouches.

hamster

/ ˈ��æ��ə /

noun

any Eurasian burrowing rodent of the tribe Cricetini, such as Mesocricetus auratus ( golden hamster ), having a stocky body, short tail, and cheek pouches: family Cricetidae. They are popular pets

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of hamster¹

1600–10; < German; compare Old High German hamastro, Old Saxon hamstra weevil

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of hamster¹

C17: from German, from Old High German hamustro, of Slavic origin

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

To disrupt the first part of this pathway, try to halt the hamster wheel in your head.

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This, too, is an authoritarian's dream: people who exhaust all their emotions on an endless hamster wheel of random strangers, while becoming further disconnected from investment in their real-world community.

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In mourning, in a job she hates, in the toxic interplay of her dysfunctional family, in the internal hamster wheel of judgment and self-loathing.

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Playful creatures from octopus and squid to whales, bunnies and even hamsters create a graphic and exciting vibe just in time for the holidays.

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"They are someone who has a dog , a cat or a hamster... and the thought of giving them away forever is too much," she added.

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More About Hamster

Where does the word hamster come from?

The name for those adorable, fluffy, little chipmunk-cheeked rodents known as hamsters hails from German. Hamster was borrowed directly from the German Hamster in the early 1600s.

We consider hamsters as the hipsters of the rodent world. Just because we can. For the sheer fun of wordplay. Alas, the -ster suffix in hipster is unrelated to the letters -ster in hamster.

Now that you know how hamsters got their name, why not find out how some of our other most beloved pets got theirs in the slideshow: “Where Do The �y��vlogs For Our Pets Come From?”

Did you know … ?

While there are nearly 20 species of hamsters, the one most commonly kept as pets is the Syrian hamster, also known as the golden hamster.

Incredibly, Syrian hamsters kept as pets today trace their ancestry—um, “hamcestry”?—back to a single female wild hamster that was caught in Aleppo, Syria, in 1930, which was then bred and spread around the world.

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