mole
nounnounverbnounnounnounnounnouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//məʊl//
- United Kingdom//mɔʊl//
- United States//mol//
- United States//moʊl//
- United States//ˈmoʊleɪ//
- United States//ˈmoʊli//
A naevus, a pigmented, slightly raised, and sometimes hairy spot on the skin.
noun
- 1
A naevus, a pigmented, slightly raised, and sometimes hairy spot on the skin.
Etymology
From Middle English mole, mool, from Old English māl (“a mole, spot, mark, blemish”), from Proto-West Germanic *mail, from Proto-Germanic *mailą (“spot, wrinkle”), from Proto-Indo-European *mel-, *melw- (“dark, dirty”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey-, *my- (“to soil, sully”). Cognate with Scots mail (“spot, stain”), Saterland Frisian Moal (“scar”), German dialectal Meil (“spot, stain, blemish”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌻 (mail, “spot, blemish”).
noun
- 1
Any of several small, burrowing, insectivorous mammals of the family Talpidae.
- 2
Any of the burrowing rodents also called mole-rats.
- 3
An internal spy; a person who involves themself with an enemy organisation, especially an intelligence or governmental organisation, to determine and betray its secrets from within.
- 4
A kind of self-propelled excavator used to form underground drains, or to clear underground pipelines.
- 5
A type of underground drain used in farm fields, in which a mole plow creates an unlined channel through clay subsoil.
Etymology
From Middle English molle, molde, mole (“mole”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *mol(h), from Proto-Germanic *mulaz, *mulhaz (“mole, salamander”), from Proto-Indo-European *molg-, *molk- (“slug, salamander”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)melw- (“to grind, crush, beat”). Cognate with North Frisian mull (“mole”), Saterland Frisian Molle (“mole”), Dutch mol (“mole”), German Low German Mol, Mul, Mull (“mole”), German Molch (“salamander, newt”), Old Russian смолжь (smolžʹ, “snail”), Czech mlž (“clam”). Derivation as an abbreviation of Middle English molewarpe, a variation of moldewarpe, moldwerp (“mole”) in Middle English is unexplained and probably unlikely due to the simultaneous occurrence of both words. See mouldwarp.
verb
- 1
To create a network of channels in (waterlogged soil) to improve drainage.
noun
- 1
slangA moll, a bitch, a slut.
Etymology
From moll (from Moll, an archaic nickname for Mary), influenced by the spelling of the word mole (“an internal spy”), and due to /mɒl/ and /məʊl/ merging as [ˈmɔʊɫ] in the Australian accent.
noun
- 1
A massive structure, usually of stone, used as a pier, breakwater or junction between places separated by water.
Its extreme downtown is the battery, where that noble mole is washed by waves, and cooled by breezes, which a few hours previous were out of sight of land.
Using the countless tons of rock from the cliff-face, supplemented by much more from inland, they threw out a huge breakwater, 2,000 ft. long and 80 ft. high, roughly at right angles to the quay, so forming an almost completely sheltered corner. Fifty years later, this massive mole is still standing up to the worst that the Irish Sea can do.
[about Saint-Tropez] Yachts and fishing boats fill the little square of water, which is surrounded on two sides by quays, on the third by a small ship-repairing yard and on the fourth by the mole where the fishing boats moor and the nets are spread out to dry.
- 2
rareA haven or harbour, protected with such a breakwater.
- 3
historicalAn Ancient Roman mausoleum.
Etymology
From French môle or Latin mōles (“mass, heap, rock”).
noun
- 1
In the International System of Units, the base unit of amount of substance; the amount of substance of a system which contains exactly 6.02214076×10²³ elementary entities (atoms, ions, molecules, etc.). Symbol: mol. The number of atoms is known as Avogadro’s number.
Etymology
Calqued from German Mol; spelled as if it had come directly from molecule or Latin moles (the ultimate source of Mol and molecule in any event).
noun
- 1
A hemorrhagic mass of tissue in the uterus caused by a dead ovum.
Etymology
In English since before the 20th century. From French môle f, from Latin mola (“millstone”), because it is a hardened mass.
noun
- 1
Any of several spicy sauces typical of the cuisine of Mexico and neighboring Central America countries, especially one that contains chocolate and is used in cooking main dishes, not desserts.
Etymology
From Spanish mole, from Classical Nahuatl mōlli (“sauce; stew; something ground”).
Forms
- plural
- moles
- past tense
- moled
- past participle
- moled
- present participle
- moling
- third person singular
- moles
mole · A naevus, a pigmented, slightly raised, and sometimes hairy spot on the skin.
Mole · A river in Surrey, England, tributary to the Thames.molecular · Relating to, or consisting of, or produced by molecules.molecule · The smallest particle of a specific element or compound that…