hedgehog
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A small mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, having their spiny back and often by rolling up into a ball when attacked, native to Afro-Eurasia.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hehjhahgSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhɛdʒhɑɡ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
us
Any of several spiny mammals, such as the porcupine, that are similar to the hedgehog.
A small mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, characterized by their spiny back and often by the habit of rolling up into a ball when attacked, native to Afro-Eurasia.
Medicago intertexta, the pods of which are armed with short spines.
A kind of electrical transformer with open magnetic circuit, the ends of the iron wire core being turned outward and presenting a bristling appearance.
Australia
A type of chocolate cake (or slice), somewhat similar to an American brownie.
Small nocturnal Old World mammal covered with both hair and protective spines
verb
To array with spiky projections like the quills of a hedgehog.
Word at a Glance
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Cactus of the genus Echinocactus having stout sharp spines.
Cactus of the genus Echinocereus.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.