mole

plural moles

1. A naevus, a pigmented, slightly raised, and sometimes hairy spot on the skin.

   Synonyms: birthmark, nevus, naevus, nævus

plural moles · alternative mool · alternative moule · alternative mowle · alternative mold

1. Any of several small, burrowing, insectivorous mammals of the family Talpidae.

   Synonyms: talpid

2. Any of the burrowing rodents also called mole-rats.
3. espionageAn internal spy; a person who involves themself with an enemy organisation, especially an intelligence or governmental organisation, to determine and betray its secrets from within.
4. A kind of self-propelled excavator used to form underground drains, or to clear underground pipelines.
5. A type of underground drain used in farm fields, in which a mole plow creates an unlined channel through clay subsoil.

present singular third person moles · participle present moling · participle past moled · past moled · alternative mool · alternative moule · alternative mowle · alternative mold

1. transitiveTo create a network of channels in (waterlogged soil) to improve drainage.

plural moles

1. AustraliaNew ZealandderogatoryslangA moll, a bitch, a slut.

   Synonyms: moll

plural moles

1. nauticalA massive structure, usually of stone, used as a pier, breakwater or junction between places separated by water.

   Its extreme downtown is the battery, where that noble mole is washed by waves, and cooled by breezes, which a few hours previous were out of sight of land.

   1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chapter 1

   3 more examples

   [Alexander the Great] then conceived the stupendous idea of constructing a mole, which should at once connect [Tyre] with the main land; and this was actually accomplished by driving piles and pouring in incalculable quantities of soil and fragments of rock; and it is generally believed, partly on the authority of ancient authors, that the whole ruins of Old Tyre were absorbed in this vast enterprize, and buried in the depths of the sea [...]

   1847, George A. Fisk, A pastor's memorial of the holy land

   Using the countless tons of rock from the cliff-face, supplemented by much more from inland, they threw out a huge breakwater, 2,000 ft. long and 80 ft. high, roughly at right angles to the quay, so forming an almost completely sheltered corner. Fifty years later, this massive mole is still standing up to the worst that the Irish Sea can do.

   1956 September, F. F. Nicholls, “Neyland, A Forgotten Harbour”, in Railway Magazine, page 632

   [about Saint-Tropez] Yachts and fishing boats fill the little square of water, which is surrounded on two sides by quays, on the third by a small ship-repairing yard and on the fourth by the mole where the fishing boats moor and the nets are spread out to dry.

   1983, Archibald Lyall, Arthur Norman Brangham, The companion guide to the south of France

2. rareA haven or harbour, protected with such a breakwater.
3. historicalAn Ancient Roman mausoleum.

plural moles · alternative mol

1. chemistryIn the International System of Units, the base unit of amount of substance; the amount of substance of a system which contains exactly 6.02214076×10²³ elementary entities (atoms, ions, molecules, etc.). Symbol: mol. The number of atoms is known as Avogadro’s number.

plural moles

1. A hemorrhagic mass of tissue in the uterus caused by a dead ovum.

plural moles · alternative molé

1. countableuncountableAny of several spicy sauces typical of the cuisine of Mexico and neighboring Central America countries, especially one that contains chocolate and is used in cooking main dishes, not desserts.

1. A river in Surrey, England, tributary to the Thames.
2. A river in Devon, England, tributary to the Taw.
3. A surname.