Definition of CHIPMUNK

chipmunk

Plural: chipmunks

Noun

  • A small, striped ground squirrel native to North America.
  • a burrowing ground squirrel of western America and Asia; has cheek pouches and a light and dark stripe running down the body
  • Any of the subtribe Tamiina of small, striped rodents; they are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia.

Verb

  • To speed up (an audio recording, especially a song), to make the voices high-pitched.
  • To fill (one's mouth or cheeks) with food.
  • To stuff (food) into one's mouth or cheeks, sometimes as part of competitive eating.

Examples

  • He found a neat spot to play CHIPMUNK, scoring a bingo in Words With Friends.

Origin / Etymology

1832; alteration (influenced by chipping squirrel) of earlier chitmunk, from older Ojibwe ačitamo˙nˀ (“squirrels”) (modern ajidamoo), literally ‘those who descend headlong’, from ačit- (“headfirst, face-down”) (compare modern ajijibizo (“he falls headfirst”), ajidagoojin (“he hangs upside down”)). The English verb developed due to the high-pitched voices of the American puppet and cartoon chipmunks in the group Alvin and the Chipmunks, who later starred in a popular children's TV show in the 1980s.

Scrabble Score: 21

chipmunk: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
chipmunk: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
chipmunk: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 25

chipmunk: valid Words With Friends Word