vole
C1/C2 (Low frequency general vocabulary; more common in specific contexts like natural history or certain card games).Neutral to Formal. When referring to the animal, it is the standard biological/common name. The card game usage is formal/technical within its context.
Definition
Meaning
A small, herbivorous rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body, a shorter hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, and smaller ears and eyes.
The term is also used in card games (chiefly British) to refer to winning all the tricks in a deal, especially in écarté. In rare usage, it can be a verb meaning to win all the tricks in a game.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Most commonly refers to the animal. Confusion with 'mole' (which lives underground) or 'mouse' (which is more common indoors) is frequent. The card game usage is niche and primarily British.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Both use 'vole' identically for the rodent. The card game meaning ('winning all tricks') is almost exclusively British; it is rare and highly specialised in American English.
Connotations
In British English, the word has a secondary, specific technical connotation in gaming. In both dialects, as an animal, it is neutral but often associated with gardens, fields, and sometimes as a pest.
Frequency
Equally low-frequency for the animal in both dialects. The card game usage is vanishingly rare in American English.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[vole] + verb (e.g., burrows, eats, scurries)adjective + [vole] (e.g., common vole)preposition + [vole] (e.g., habitat for voles)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “None in common usage.”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Not used.
Academic
Used in biology, ecology, and environmental science texts discussing small mammal populations, food chains, or pest management.
Everyday
Used when discussing garden pests, wildlife sightings, or in nature documentaries.
Technical
Specific in zoology (species names like *Microtus agrestis*). Also a technical term in certain card games (e.g., 'to vole the pool').
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- He managed to vole in the final hand, securing a dramatic victory.
- Voleing requires both skill and luck in écarté.
American English
- (Rare/Uncommon) The term is not typically used as a verb in AmE.
adverb
British English
- (No standard adverbial use)
American English
- (No standard adverbial use)
adjective
British English
- (No standard adjectival use)
American English
- (No standard adjectival use)
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I saw a small animal in the garden. It was a vole.
- A vole is like a mouse.
- The field vole is common in the British countryside.
- We have a vole problem in our vegetable patch.
- Conservation efforts are focused on protecting the water vole, whose habitat is under threat.
- The ecologist set traps to monitor the local vole population.
- The cyclical fluctuations in the vole population have a direct impact on the breeding success of barn owls.
- In a clever manoeuvre, she voled the last three tricks to win the rubber.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: 'VOLE' lives in a 'HOLE' in the field. It's like a mouse but more VOluminous (stouter).
Conceptual Metaphor
Not commonly used metaphorically.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'вол' (vol) which means 'ox'.
- The animal 'vole' is typically 'полёвка' (polyovka) in Russian.
Common Mistakes
- Misspelling as 'vol' or 'vowel'.
- Confusing with 'mole' (крот) which is a different, subterranean insectivore.
Practice
Quiz
In which context might you hear the word 'vole' used as a verb?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Voles have stouter bodies, shorter, hairy tails, blunter snouts, and smaller eyes and ears compared to mice.
No, it is low-frequency. Most English speakers know it refers to a small rodent, but it is not a word used daily unless in specific contexts like gardening, wildlife study, or certain card games.
Yes, but rarely and almost exclusively in British English in the context of card games (like écarté or solo whist), meaning to win all the tricks.
The character 'Ratty' in Kenneth Grahame's 'The Wind in the Willows' is actually a water vole, which has made this species particularly iconic in British culture.