Mischief
noun /ˈmɪstʃɪf/ — A group of mice — and a perfectly descriptive name for them.
Definition
The collective noun for a group of mice — named for the quality most associated with their behaviour: the small, sneaky, irrepressible tendency to get into everything they shouldn't.
Beyond the definition
Whoever named a group of mice a mischief had clearly watched them. The word captures something true and slightly fond — an acknowledgment that mice, however troublesome, are doing exactly what mice do. Mischief is the name of a character, not just a behaviour.
Origin & history
English collective noun tradition. 'Mischief' as a collective noun for mice dates to medieval English hunting and natural history texts.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
A mischief of mice had found the pantry — the evidence was comprehensive.
She used 'mischief of mice' in the children's story and it became everyone's favourite line.
The collective noun tells you everything about how people have always felt about mice.
Synonyms
nest (of mice), colony
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Word in focus
A mischief of mice
A mischief of mice tucked into seed heads side by side.
Mischief is a playful collective name for mice. These two pet mice are eating together; the name does not mean they are doing anything wrong.
Image credit: Tiia Monto · CC BY-SA 3.0 (license)
Resized and converted to WebP; full composition retained.