vulture
Americannoun
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any of several large, primarily carrion-eating Old World birds of prey of the family Accipitridae, often having a naked head and less powerful feet than those of the related hawks and eagles.
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any of several superficially similar New World birds of the family Cathartidae, as the turkey vulture.
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a person or thing that preys, especially greedily or unscrupulously.
That vulture would sell out his best friend.
noun
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any of various very large diurnal birds of prey of the genera Neophron, Gyps, Gypaetus, etc, of Africa, Asia, and warm parts of Europe, typically having broad wings and soaring flight and feeding on carrion: family Accipitridae (hawks) See also griffon 1 lammergeier
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any similar bird of the family Cathartidae of North, Central, and South America See also condor turkey buzzard
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a person or thing that preys greedily and ruthlessly on others, esp the helpless
Other Word Forms
- vulture-like adjective
- vulturelike adjective
Etymology
Origin of vulture
1325–75; Middle English < Latin vultur
Compare meaning
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That MP said: "He's got vultures left, right, up, down, in front and behind. He needs to man up and show he's happy to see off anyone."
From BBC
I am resentful that his children were no-shows for his heart surgery, yet they are vultures about his assets.
From MarketWatch
The birds perched in the trees were not vultures but gentle cooing doves, with a few comically roosting chickens mixed among them.
From Literature
“The vultures are out there swarming,” Michelson said, referring to developers and investors looking to turn a profit following the devastation.
From Los Angeles Times
There were seagulls and puffins and cormorants and vultures and skuas and terns and sandpipers and eagles and every other type of northern bird, all flying together.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
