DictionaryAI

guinea pig

noun
GIN-ee pig/ˈɡɪni pɪɡ/

Pluralguinea pigs

5 meanings of guinea pig

Practice

  1. 1
    pet animalnouncountable
    A small animal with short ears and no tail that people often keep as a pet.

    My little sister feeds her guinea pig fresh lettuce every morning.

    The pet shop had three guinea pigs in a big cage.

    Similarcavy

    Note
  2. 2
    test subjectnounfigurativelycountable
    A person or animal that something new is tested on.

    I'll be your guinea pig and taste the new recipe first.

    The students were used as guinea pigs for the new way of teaching math.

    Similarsubject

    Note
  3. 3
    wild speciesnouncountable
    Any of a group of small animals with no tail and short ears that look like big hamsters.

    Wild guinea pigs live in groups in the grasslands of South America.

    The zoo has a wild guinea pig that hides in the tall grass all day.

    Similarcavy

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    company directornoundatedcountable
    A person who is paid to sit on company boards but has no time or real skill for the work.

    The company's board was full of guinea pigs who never read the reports.

    He was a guinea pig on six boards and could not name what most of the companies made.

    Note
  2. 5
    trainee sailornounobsolete
    A young officer in training on East India ships, or any sailor who is not very good at the job.

    The old sailors laughed at the new guinea pig who got seasick on his first day.

    A good seaman he is... none of your guinea-pigs.
    1748, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Roderick RandomHere, guinea-pigs means sailors who are not very good at the job.
    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of guinea pig apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Nobody is sure why it is called "guinea"; it may point to a faraway country. The meaning "a person used in a test" comes from the long use of these animals in science.