herbivore

American  

[hur-buh-vawr, -vohr] / ˈhɜr bəˌvɔr, -ˌvoʊr /

noun

• herbivores
  plural

1. a herbivorous animal.

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herbivore British  

/ ˈhɜːbɪˌvɔː /

noun

1. an animal that feeds on grass and other plants

2. informal a liberal, idealistic, or nonmaterialistic person

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herbivore Scientific  

/ hûr′bə-vôr′,ûr′- /

1. An animal that feeds mainly or only on plants. In a food chain, herbivores are primary consumers.

2. Compare carnivore detritivore

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herbivore Cultural  

1. A living thing that eats only plants. Cattle, sheep, and horses are herbivores.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• herbivores
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of herbivore

1850–55; < New Latin herbivorus; see herb, -i-, -vore

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

herbivore herbivores

In May, it was revealed that a different type of long-necked herbivore dinosaur - the nagatitan - had been identified by scientists from remains dug up in Thailand.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

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 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

In each case the birds dine on the insects that would otherwise bother the herbivore.

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

Reintroducing wild horses and other herbivores to keep vegetation in check appeals to environmentalists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

He told the Reuters news agency that it was "likely that the high temperatures had an impact on the plant fodder that was important to sauropods, which were very large-bodied herbivores".

From BBC ● May 14, 2026

These fossils come from the Morrison Formation* in the United States and were used to reconstruct a detailed food web, showing how plants, herbivores, and carnivores were linked through feeding relationships.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 1, 2026

Gethenians are not a hunting people, because there is very little to hunt—no large herbivores, thus no large carnivores, except in the teeming seas.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

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Related Words

• fruitarian
• vegan
• vegetarian

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