shrew

1 of 2

noun

ˈshrü How to pronounce shrew (audio)
 especially Southern  ˈsrü
1
: any of a family (Soricidae) of small chiefly nocturnal insectivores related to the moles and distinguished by a long pointed snout, very small eyes, and short velvety fur
2
: an ill-tempered scolding woman
shrewlike adjective

shrew

2 of 2

verb

shrewed; shrewing; shrews

transitive verb

obsolete
: curse

Examples of shrew in a Sentence

Noun Rip Van Winkle went off into the mountains to escape his wife, a shrew who made his life miserable.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
By Issy Ronald |, CNN Momentarily pausing after eating some mealworms, an elusive shrew’s long snout pointed skywards, unaware of the historic portrait that had just been captured. Cnn.com, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2025 The Mount Lyell shrew was captured in a photo for the first time in California. Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2025 Cats can kill between 6.3 billion and 22.3 billion mammals a year, mainly mice, voles, shrews, squirrels and rabbits, an article from Catster reported. Kristen Waggoner, Newsweek, 21 Jan. 2025 Its other name, the four-toed elephant shrew, refers to its trunk-like snout. Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for shrew 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English shrewe evil or scolding person, from Old English scrēawa shrew (animal)

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shrew was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near shrew

Cite this Entry

“Shrew.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shrew. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

shrew

noun
ˈshrü
1
: any of numerous small mammals that are related to the moles, are active mostly at night, and have a long pointed snout, very small eyes, and velvety fur
2
: a scolding or bad-tempered woman
shrewish
ˈshrü-ish
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on shrew

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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