hamsters

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of hamster.

   The breeder separated the male and female hamsters into different enclosures.

   Wild hamsters dig extensive burrows to store seeds for winter.

   Note

   The plural reaches further than the pet cage. Alongside golden and dwarf hamsters, it takes in rodents named only for their looks, such as the maned or crested hamster and the mouse-like hamsters of Calomyscus. The same spelling also serves the verb for hoarding, so in "she hamsters" the word is a verb, while in "the hamsters" it means the animals.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of hamster.

   My neighbor hamsters firewood all summer in case of a hard winter.

   The company hamsters rare components so production never stalls.

   Note

   The verb is built on the animal's habit of stuffing food into its cheek pouches, and it works with or without an object. Someone hamsters firewood, or a cautious person simply hamsters. As an -s form it follows a singular subject such as he, she, it or the company. That subject is the quickest way to tell it from the plural noun.

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