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vole

1 American  
[vohl] / voʊl /

noun

  1. any of several small mouselike or ratlike rodents of the genus Microtus and related genera, having short limbs and a short tail.

vole 2 American  
[vohl] / voʊl /

noun

  1. Cards. the winning by one player of all the tricks of a deal.

idioms

  1. go the vole,

    1. to venture everything on the chance of great rewards.

    2. to try one after another, as a variety of occupations.

      He went the vole and finally settled on watchmaking.
vole 1 British  
/ vəʊl /

noun

  1. any of numerous small rodents of the genus Microtus and related genera, mostly of Eurasia and North America and having a stocky body, short tail, and inconspicuous ears: family Cricetidae See also water vole

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
vole 2 British  
/ vəʊl /

noun

  1. (in some card games, such as écarté) the taking of all the tricks in a deal, thus scoring extra points

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of vole1

1795–1805; short for volemouse field mouse, perhaps < Norwegian *vollmus, equivalent to voll field ( wold 1 ) + mus mouse

Origin of vole2

1670–80; < French, derivative of voler to fly < Latin volāre

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

On land, habitats for hedgehogs, field voles and other small mammals have been washed out, resulting in them being pushed out of their homes and drowning.

From BBC

Animals, like pocket gophers, deer mice, shrews, voles, and other small mammals, were still in their winter burrows.

From Literature

"They say wildcats live on voles. Well, voles are feeding my barn owls so if you reduce the vole population you are having an effect on the barn owls," he explained.

From BBC

As well as working with police, Henry also helps conservationists with "ecological monitoring", including for pine martens, hedgehogs, otters and water voles.

From BBC

Agatha Christie graciously engaged with a critique involving the word “vole.”

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.