plantigrade

[ plan-ti-greyd ]

adjective
  1. walking on the whole sole of the foot, as humans and bears.

noun
  1. a plantigrade animal.

Origin of plantigrade

1
First recorded in 1825–35; from French plantigrade (noun), from New Latin plantigradus, equivalent to Latin plant(a) “sole of the foot” + -i- + -gradus; see -i-, -grade

Other words from plantigrade

  • sub·plan·ti·grade, adjective

Words Nearby plantigrade

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use plantigrade in a sentence

  • In considering this question, the first fact to appear is that the apes and lemurs are plantigrade animals.

    Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris
  • It is a plantigrade circumflex vertebrate bacterium that hasnt any wings and is uncertain.

    A Horse's Tale | Mark Twain
  • plantigrade circumflex vertebrate bacterium that hasnt any wings and is uncertain.

    A Horse's Tale | Mark Twain
  • Its legs are short in proportion, and as it is plantigrade in the hind-feet, it stands and runs low, and cat-like.

    The Hunters' Feast | Mayne Reid
  • Her unstable bust was stayed and upheld by French corsets; her plantigrade shuffle was limited by heeled boots.

British Dictionary definitions for plantigrade

plantigrade

/ (ˈplæntɪˌɡreɪd) /


adjective
  1. walking with the entire sole of the foot touching the ground, as, for example, man and bears

noun
  1. a plantigrade animal

Origin of plantigrade

1
C19: via French from New Latin plantigradus, from Latin planta sole of the foot + gradus a step

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for plantigrade

plantigrade

[ plăntĭ-grād′ ]


  1. Walking with the entire sole of the foot on the ground, as humans, bears, raccoons, and rabbits.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.