herbivore
Americannoun
-
herbivores
plural
noun
-
an animal that feeds on grass and other plants
-
informal a liberal, idealistic, or nonmaterialistic person
-
An animal that feeds mainly or only on plants. In a food chain, herbivores are primary consumers.
-
Compare carnivore detritivore
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of herbivore
Explanation
Given a choice between a sirloin steak and a pile of grass, an herbivore will take the grass every time. If grass isn't on the menu, a salad will do. Herbivores eat plants. The herb in herbivore reminds you that herbivores eat plants rather than other animals. If you know any giraffes, deer, or vegetarians, you might have some herbivore friends. If you have a friend named Herb, let him know he's safe around them. Unless Herb is your favorite houseplant.
Vocabulary lists containing herbivore
Life Science: Ecosystems
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Ecology - Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems - Introductory
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Ecology - Introductory
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Guillermo Deferrari, of Ushuaia's scientific research center, downplayed the landfill theory, explaining that the colilargo is herbivore and lives off seeds and fruit found in forested ecosystems, not in dumps, where the common rat feeds.
From Barron's ● May 12, 2026
Students must do a training stint in each of four main categories — carnivore, herbivore, bird and primate — so they may wind up working with animals they find unpleasant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2025
The medium-sized herbivore once roamed the floodplains of what is now the island's south-west coast.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2025
The newest — described on Thursday by a team of researchers in the journal PeerJ — is Lokiceratops rangiformis, a five-ton herbivore with spectacular, curving brow horns and huge, bladed spikes on its meter-long frill.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2024
We can bite like a car-nivore, or chew like an herbivore, depending on the dish.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
Researchers believe the giant herbivores roamed during the Pleistocene epoch, spanning from 2.5 million years ago until their extinction about 11,700 years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
The evidence comes from bite and tooth marks left on the fossilized remains of herbivores.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
Reintroducing wild horses and other herbivores to keep vegetation in check appeals to environmentalists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
They’re the base of the aquatic food chain, fed on by herbivores of all shapes and sizes, including shrimp and juvenile fish, which in turn feed organisms higher up the food chain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
People in prehistoric times often hunted the big herbivores that dined on grass.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
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.
