# Plural Of 'Mouse' ( Computer)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 2, 2022, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101 "2022-01-02T22:27:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/21 "2022-01-03T04:26:37Z")
I’ve always called them mice. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/22 "2022-01-03T04:55:04Z")
There was this time in years past where I saw people trying to insist that the plural should be different. But that whole ideas seems to have fallen out of favor. I’ve not heard anyone refer to “computer mouses” in over a decade now. They’re just “computer mice.” I note that Windows’s spellcheck recognizes _mice_ and not _mouses_. (Then again, it recognizes _façade_ and not _facade_, so it can be rather stupid sometimes.) And, yes, I mean Windows spellcheck, because that’s what Chrome uses, with all the flaws it has. I don’t know how many times Windows can’t figure out a word where I just mixed up two letters or added an extra letter. I don’t know why Google doesn’t just choose to use the spellcheck they use for Gboard (their Android keyboard app). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/23 "2022-01-03T05:17:08Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > There was this time in years past where I saw people trying to insist that the plural should be different. But that whole ideas seems to have fallen out of favor. I’ve not heard anyone refer to “computer mouses” in over a decade now. They’re just “computer mice.” That conforms with my observation. I remember in the 90s arguing about whether it should be “mouses” or “mice,” and I personally preferred “mouses” for the computer peripheral, but that war has long been over in my observation, with “mice” used by everyone I could think of. I also find it surprising that some have never heard “mice” as the plural – in my personal experience, it is ubiquitous. If you go to Amazon and just type in “mouse” on the left side where you can narrow your search, the first two categories are: “computer mice” followed by “PC gaming mice.” If you go to Logitech’s website, the Products tab has “Mice and Keyboards” as the first entry. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/24 "2022-01-03T06:33:51Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’ve always gone with “meeces” myself. My vote too. But do we have to hate those meeces to pieces? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/25 "2022-01-03T06:48:08Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > If you go to Logitech’s website, the Products tab has “Mice and Keyboards” as the first entry I looked at EVGA’s website and they use “mice” as well. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/26 "2022-01-03T11:40:44Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > A pair of “mouse” is “mice” > A pair of “moose” is “meese” And a pair of “spouse” is “spice”. (From John Allen Paulos, somewhere in his book _Innumeracy_.) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/27 "2022-01-03T11:43:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve also seen “mousen”, but I think that was mostly in jest. Mostly. Izzat German-ish? The French plural must be “moux”. (Pronouncé like “moo”.) I’ve always used “mouses” for multiple computer mouses. (Oh, and more than one “goose” is “gice”.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/28 "2022-01-03T13:07:03Z")
Of course, it’s possible that we’re getting the _singular_ form wrong. To quote Ambrose Beirce’s **The Devil’s Dictionary** : > [@](#): > > DIE, n. The singular of “dice.” We seldom hear the word, because there is a prohibitory proverb, “Never say die.” At long intervals, however, some one says: “The die is cast,” which is not true, for it is cut. The word is found in an immortal couplet by that eminent poet and domestic economist, Senator Depew: > > > A cube of cheese no larger than a die > > May bait the trap to catch a nibbling mie. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/29 "2022-01-03T13:25:59Z")
I’d prefer mouses, and would hope that the usage would percolate backwards to furry kind. In the same way that “octopuses” is now acceptable. People who have to learn ESL have enough difficulty without having to put up with special cases like this. I’ve mentioned this story before : Was there an old thread about _computer mouse_ plural? There is an item called a “tailor’s goose”. One day the president of a large retail tailor supplier wrote to his wholesaler and ordered “100 tailor’s gooses”. The president looked at that order for a while, tore it up and wrote out a new one - ordering “100 tailor’s geese”. He looked at that one, tore it up, sat and throught for a while and wrote out a new order for “ONE tailor’s goose – Oh what the hell, make it 100.” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/30 "2022-01-03T13:40:09Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Izzat German-ish? > > The French plural must be “moux”. (Pronouncé like “moo”.) > > I’ve always used “mouses” for multiple computer mouses. > > (Oh, and more than one “goose” is “gice”.) I wouldn’t use the -ice ending foor “goose”, but I would for “grouse”. Early computer culture seemed to enjoy playing with language a bit. I know of one lexicon that suggests that the plural of “box” is “boxen” (as “ox” to “oxen”), and that the plural of “mongoose” is “polygoose”. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/31 "2022-01-03T13:46:16Z")
Yep, “mice”. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/32 "2022-01-03T14:42:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That conforms with my observation. I remember in the 90s arguing about whether it should be “mouses” or “mice,” and I personally preferred “mouses” … You know, now that you mention it, i remember that, too. Except even back then, i preferred “mice”. Too complicated to change the plural depending on the use of the word. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/33 "2022-01-03T14:47:05Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > What percentage of people ever deal with more than one at a time? Anyone who works in a place of distribution. Like a computer store; IIRC, we used “mice”. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/34 "2022-01-03T18:08:35Z")
I have always said mice. It is called a mouse because it looks like one with a tail and all. And two of them look like two mice. But the third singular of the verb is mouses. More important question: What do you call Mr. & Mrs. Proudfoot? And Julia and Paul Child? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/35 "2022-01-03T18:13:31Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > And Julia and Paul Child? Dead? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/36 "2022-01-03T18:19:44Z")
“mice” missed opportunity for a poll ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/37 "2022-01-03T18:26:02Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I know of one lexicon that suggests that the plural of “box” is “boxen” (as “ox” to “oxen”), and that the plural of “mongoose” is “polygoose”. That would be [The New Hacker’s Dictionary, by Eric S. Raymond](https://www.amazon.com/New-Hackers-Dictionary-3rd/dp/0262680920), the published version of the old Jargon File, which Raymond [still maintains on his web site](http://catb.org/jargon/html/online-preface.html). ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/38 "2022-01-03T19:59:29Z")
We need a new name completely. It’s a classic case of evolution in action. Mice (or mouses) originally acquired their name because they looked like mice - a small thing that scuttled about on the desktop with a tail. Well, now most have evolved into a similar-but-not-the same creature that still occupies the same evolutionary niche, but look different (no tail) and have completely different internal organs (optical instead of ball/rollers). The original still lives on in a few isolated outposts (eg: my mother’s house) and there have been some ‘failed’ branches of the evolutionary tree (remember trackballs? - they were cool, but never caught on). ---
**Author:** ![Mortimus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mortimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mortimus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/39 "2022-01-03T22:15:10Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Rodentia. I’ve always called them rodents. Then I usually have to explain myself. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/40 "2022-01-03T22:50:51Z")
From my experience with early Silicon Valley- there was a concerted attempt to get rid of one of those stupid left over irregular plurals, and use “mouses”, but it looks like the “grammar nazis” have won again. sigh. Oh and by the way - it is “octopuses” not “Octopi”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101.md?page=3)