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carnivore

[kahr-nuh-vawr]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

any mammal of the order Carnivora that eats meat, fish, or other flesh, especially as its primary source of food: a category of mammals that includes dogs, cats, bears, seals, and weasels.
any animal that eats meat, fish, etc., especially as its primary source of food; meat-eater.
alligators, snakes, and other reptilian carnivores.
any plant that traps and feeds on insects and/or arachnids, such as a Venus flytrap.

carnivore

/ ˈ��ɑː��ɪˌ��ɔː /

noun

any placental mammal of the order Carnivora, typically having large pointed canine teeth and sharp molars and premolars, specialized for eating flesh. The order includes cats, dogs, bears, raccoons, hyenas, civets, and weasels
any other animal or any plant that feeds on animals
informal��an aggressively ambitious person

carnivore

1. An animal that feeds chiefly on the flesh of other animals. Carnivores include predators such as lions and alligators, and scavengers such as hyenas and vultures. In a food chain, carnivores are either secondary or tertiary consumers.
2. Any of various generally meat-eating mammals of the order Carnivora. Carnivores have large, sharp canine teeth and large brains, and the musculoskeletal structure of their forelimbs permits great flexibility for springing at prey. Many carnivores remain in and defend a single territory. Dogs, cats, bears, weasels, raccoons, hyenas, and (according to some classifications) seals and walruses are all carnivores.
A plant that eats insects, such as a Venus flytrap.

carnivore

A living thing that eats meat. Among mammals, there is an order of carnivores, including primarily meat-eating animals such as tigers and dogs. Some plants, such as the Venus's-flytrap, are carnivores.

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Other Word Forms

carnivoral adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of carnivore¹

First recorded in 1850–55; from French, from Latin carnivorus carnivorous

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Word History and Origins

Origin of carnivore¹

C19: probably back formation from _carnivorous

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

A devout vegetarian, he is forced to capture and kill a swimming turtle, then share the meat and blood with Richard Parker, a carnivore without conscience.

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Andria Townsend, a carnivore biologist who supervised a team of eight people at Yosemite National Park before she was fired in an email, told the BBC she "100%" supports the protest.

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“Coyotes are one of the most adaptable carnivores, but their movement patterns really reflect broader urban inequities,” said Wilkinson, now a research associate with the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

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Yet, this is still one of my most requested to bring round to family dinners where a table full of my favorite and most discriminating carnivores never fail to rave over it.

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A UC Davis study showed a nutty novel behavior in California squirrels: They’re hunting like carnivores, taking down and then consuming other, smaller rodents.

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Related Words

carnivorous��
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carnivoran carnivorous

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