Online dictionaryOnline dictionary
Synonyms, antonyms, pronunciation

  Home 		English Dictionary      examples: 'day', 'get rid of', 'New York Bay'




Guinea pig   /gˈɪni pɪg/   Listen
noun
Guinea pig  n.  
1.
(Zool.) A small Brazilian rodent (Cavia porcellus or Cavia cobaya), about seven inches in length and usually of a white color, with spots of orange and black. Called also cavy. It is the domesticated form of the wild cavy, often kept as a pet and used commonly as an experimental animal in laboratory research.
2.
Hence, (figuratively): Any animal or person used in an experiment; also applied to people who are unwillingly or unknowingly subjected by authorities to policies or procedures which might cause bodily or mental harm.
3.
A contemptuous sobriquet. (Obs.)





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


Advanced search
     Find words:
Starting with
Ending with
Containing
Matching a pattern  

Synonyms
Antonyms
Quotes
Words linked to  

only single words


Share |
Add this dictionary
to your browser search bar




"Guinea pig" Quotes from Famous Books



... to be deserted," said Angel, in his lordly way, "we'll just adopt you on our own. Mrs. Handsomebody won't let us have a dog, nor a guinea pig, nor rabbits, nor even a white rat, but, you bet, she's got to let us keep a grandfather, if we take him right home and say he's come for a visit, and, of course, father'll have to pay for his board. Let's ...
— Explorers of the Dawn • Mazo de la Roche
... image to the old, or extinguish a part of the old and put the new in its place, or we retain only a more or less vigorous breath of the old with the new. Such images go far back; even animals possess them. One day my small son came with his exciting information that his guinea pig, well known as a stupid beast, could count. He tried to prove this by removing the six young from their mother and hiding them so that she could not see what happened to them. Then he took one of the six, hid it, and brought ...
— Robin Hood • J. Walker McSpadden
... the Babe, glancing again, a little nervously, at the bushes. "It was like—like a tre-mendous big fat guinea pig, with a fat tail and all kind ...
— Children of the Wild • Charles G. D. Roberts


Copyright © 2025 Dictionary One.com