What does mousing mean?
Mousing is the present participle of the verb “mouse” and most commonly describes the act of searching for or catching mice. A cat may mousing through a garden or crouch while mousing near a hole, although the expression is also used figuratively for furtive movement. A person who searches drawers, cupboards, or offices without authorization may likewise be described as mousing about, with the word carrying an implication of secrecy, curiosity, or wrongdoing. The traditional phrase “caught mousing” means that someone has been discovered engaged in an improper activity. Mousing occurs in both British and American English, but its literal sense is less common in everyday speech than its extended, figurative uses. The word is particularly memorable because an ordinary animal activity has developed into a compact idiom for suspicious behaviour.
verbTo search for or catch mice. By extension, to move about furtively or search for something, especially in a place where one should not be.
- To search for or catch mice.
- To move about or search furtively, especially with an improper or suspicious purpose.
"The cat spent the evening mousing behind the pantry shelves."
"The terrier began mousing in the barn, alert to every movement in the straw."
"The security guard caught two teenagers mousing around the building after midnight."
A cat may mousing for food, but a person caught mousing is usually up to no good.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does mousing come from?
The word derives from the verb “mouse,” meaning to search for or catch mice, whose own name comes from Old English “mūs.” English “mouse” ultimately reflects Proto-Germanic “mūs,” a term inherited from the same Indo-European root preserved in Latin “mūs,” German “Maus,” and Dutch “muis.” “Mousing” was formed from this older verb by adding the present-participle ending -ing.
Related word forms
How mousing is actually used
In modern English, literal use is most common in contexts involving a cat or other animal hunting mice. The phrase “caught mousing” is an established idiom for being discovered while doing something improper or unauthorized.
Easily confused with mousing
Mousing can refer either literally to hunting mice or figuratively to furtively searching or prowling; the context determines which meaning is intended.