chipmunk means any of the subtribe Tamiina of small, striped rodents; they are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia.
chipmunk is pronounced /ˈt͡ʃɪp.mʌŋk/.
Etymology
1832; alteration (influenced by chipping squirrel) of earlier chitmunk, from older Ojibwe ačitamo˙nˀ (“squirrels”) (modern ajidamoo), literally ‘those who descend headlong’, from ačit- (“headfirst, face-down”) (compare modern ajijibizo (“he falls headfirst”), ajidagoojin (“he hangs upside down”)). The English verb developed due to the high-pitched voices of the American puppet and cartoon chipmunks in the group Alvin and the Chipmunks, who later starred in a popular children's TV show in the 1980s.
noun
- Any of the subtribe Tamiina of small, striped rodents; they are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia.
verb
- To speed up (an audio recording, especially a song), to make the voices high-pitched.“The Dipset capo favors breezy, bass-heavy beats instead of chipmunked soul samples to celebrate the 'hood's favorite season.”
- To fill (one's mouth or cheeks) with food.“Less than a minute to go and she's chewing almost viciously, her stuffed cheeks all chipmunked out like Dizzy Gillespie's in midsolo.”
- To stuff (food) into one's mouth or cheeks, sometimes as part of competitive eating.“She chipmunked her breakfast into a porcelain cheek.”