Dictionary

mouse potato en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈmaʊs pəˈteɪ.təʊ/ (UK)
• (Australia) audio
• /maʊs pəʊ.teɪ.təʊ/ (US)

Etymology

Blend of mouse + couch potato; "mouse" referring to the device linked to computers.

Meanings

1. (slang) A person who spends excessive amounts of time using a computer.
   • Lady Miss Kier is a mouse potato. 'I wake up, I go and turn the computer on before I wash my face or brush my teeth. I'll be sitting there in my underwear, and before I know it, four hours have passed. Then I pick up the phone, push some more buttons and the food delivery arrives, and then 16 hours have passed in front of the computer. It leaves you completely drained.' 1994 July 14, Ruth Shurman, “Me and my Gizmo: No. 8”, in The Guardian:
   • The internet, the authors say, affords the average mouse-potato the opportunity to experience a Naipaul-esque enigma of arrival in far-away lands without ever leaving the shores of Trinidad. 2001 December 7, Aniruddho Sanyal, “The Trini Trinity Is Found On De Line”, in The Times Higher Education Supplement:

Forms

Relateds

terminally online · chronically online

Translations (3)

de PC-Hocker (A person who spends excessive amounts of time using a computer) · pl osoba uzależniona od komputera (A person who spends excessive amounts of time using a computer) · de PC-Narr (A person who spends excessive amounts of time using a computer)