mole
Pluralmoles
- 1A small furry animal that digs tunnels underground and eats insects.
Like a tiny digger that lives under your garden.
A mole had pushed up little hills of earth across the lawn.
Moles spend most of their lives digging tunnels below the surface.
Note
- 2A small dark spot on the skin that is sometimes slightly raised or has hairs.
She has a small mole on her left cheek.
The doctor checked a mole on his back that had changed color.
UsageDoctors may write naevus; most people say mole.
Note
- 3Someone inside a group who secretly passes its information to people outside it.
Like a hidden enemy who pretends to be your friend.
The agency discovered a mole passing files to a foreign government.
For years a mole had leaked their plans to the other side.
UsageSay a mole in a group. People hunt a mole.
Similarspy, infiltrator, plant
Note
- 4A unit chemists use to count very large numbers of atoms or molecules.
Like the way a dozen always means twelve: but a mole means a very large fixed number of tiny things.
One mole of any substance contains the same huge number of particles.
The teacher asked us to find how many grams are in a mole of water.
UsageWrite 2 mol with numbers, two moles in words.
Note
- 5SayMOH-layUS/ˈmoʊleɪ/UK/ˈməʊleɪ/A spicy Mexican sauce, often made with chili peppers and chocolate, used on main dishes.
She poured rich mole over the roasted chicken.
The recipe for mole takes hours to prepare.
UsageSay MOH-lay: chicken with mole.
Note
- 6A digging rodent also known as a mole-rat.
Note
- 7A large, strong wall of stone built out into the water as a pier or barrier.
Like a long stone arm reaching out into the sea.
Boats tied up along the stone mole that sheltered the harbor.
Waves crashed against the mole protecting the bay.
Similarbreakwater, jetty, pier
Note
- 8A lump of abnormal tissue that grows in the womb when a pregnancy goes wrong.
The scan revealed a mole growing in her womb instead of a healthy pregnancy.
Doctors removed the mole from her womb and checked her blood for several months.
Note
Less common meanings
- 9A machine that digs tunnels or drains underground, or clears blocked pipes under the ground.
Like a robot that digs tunnels underground by itself.
The crew sent a mole through the pipe to clear the blockage.
A mole bored a new drainage channel beneath the field.
- 10
- 11An insulting slang word for a woman, sometimes a gangster's girlfriend.
A drunk man at the pub called her a stupid mole.
They dismissed her as nothing but a cheap mole.
Note
- 12An underground farm drain made by pulling a special plow through clay soil.
- 13A large stone tomb built in ancient Rome.
Practice
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Origins
From Old English māl, meaning a spot or mark on the skin.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The skin-mark sense of mole derives from Old English māl, meaning a mole, spot, mark or blemish. en.wiktionary.org
From Middle English molle, meaning the small burrowing animal.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The animal name mole derives from Middle English molle, with the same meaning. en.wiktionary.org
From moll (from Moll, an old nickname for Mary), and shaped by the spelling of mole meaning a spy.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- This sense of mole derives from moll. en.wiktionary.org
- Moll is an old nickname for Mary, from which moll derives. en.wiktionary.org
- The spelling was influenced by mole meaning a spy. en.wiktionary.org
It comes from the French word môle or the Latin word mōles. The Latin word meant a mass or a heap.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Mole comes from French môle or Latin mōles. en.wiktionary.org
- The Latin word meant a mass or a heap. en.wiktionary.org
Based on German Mol, and spelled as if from molecule or Latin moles.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The chemical unit name mole is based on German Mol. en.wikipedia.org
- Its spelling reflects molecule or Latin moles. en.wiktionary.org
It comes from French "môle", from the Latin word "mola", which means a millstone (a big stone for grinding grain). It got this name because it is a hard lump.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- English mole comes from French môle, from Latin mola, meaning “millstone”. en.wiktionary.org
- A millstone is a big stone used for grinding grain. en.wikipedia.org
- The growth was named for being a hard lump. en.wiktionary.org
The word came to English from Spanish "mole". Spanish took it from "mōlli" in Nahuatl, a language from Mexico. It meant a sauce, or something ground.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- English borrowed mole from Spanish. en.wiktionary.org
- Spanish borrowed mole from Nahuatl mōlli. nahuatl.wired-humanities.org
- Nahuatl is a language of Mexico. en.wikipedia.org
- Nahuatl mōlli meant sauce or something ground. nahuatl.wired-humanities.org