mole
mole Lexical Profile
mole Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A small, slightly elevated, pigmented spot or blemish on the human skin formed by a cluster of melanocytes.
"The dermatologist examined the dark mole on her shoulder to ensure its borders were regular and benign."
A small, insectivorous, burrowing mammal of the family Talpidae, native to Eurasia and North America, characterized by velvety fur, very small eyes, and broad, powerful forefeet adapted for digging underground tunnels.
"The gardener noticed several fresh mounds of soil across the lawn where a mole had been tunneling overnight."
A spy or informant who gradually achieves an trusted position within a government, intelligence agency, or organization in order to secretly pass confidential information to a rival or enemy.
"Counterintelligence officials spent months investigating whether a mole inside the ministry had leaked the classified documents."
The standard base unit of amount of substance in the International System of Units (SI), defined as containing exactly 6.02214076 × 10²³ elementary entities (such as atoms, molecules, or ions).
"In chemistry class, the students calculated the mass of one mole of carbon dioxide using the periodic table."
A rich, complex traditional Mexican sauce typically made from a blend of chili peppers, warm spices, seeds, nuts, and often unsweetened chocolate, served over meat or poultry.
"The chef simmered the roasted poblanos, sesame seeds, spices, and dark chocolate for hours to create a velvety mole."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the Mexican culinary sauce, the word is a homograph pronounced with two syllables ('MOH-lay') rather than the single-syllable pronunciation ('mohl') used for the mammal, skin blemish, spy, or chemical unit.
• Rhymes for mole
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
This word represents several distinct etymological roots: the burrowing mammal comes from Middle English 'molle' (related to 'moldwarp', meaning 'earth-thrower'); the skin spot derives from Old English 'mal' ('spot' or 'mark'); the chemical unit was coined in German as 'Mol' from 'Molekül' ('molecule'); and the Mexican sauce comes via Spanish from Nahuatl 'mōlli', meaning 'sauce' or 'concoction'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.